EmTek Racing News - 2005

06/08/2005 - Race Report from Regional Race 6 - Phakisa

Round 6 Northern Regions - Phakisa Freeway

Saturday 6th August saw round 6 of the Northern Regions Regional racing amidst a fairly cool (part Winter/part Spring) day. For the racing however it was a great days racing. For some obscure reason Phakisa normally brings the best out of us "donkey" riders and I suspect that it is the Phakisa circuit.

The circuit must rate as one of the best in the country (in my personal opinion it is better than Kyalami) and also has some of the best facilities to match the track. Over the past year the number of lap records broken had slowed down to but a trickle but this event again saw the pace light up and records started tumbling again. Even personal best times were consistently bettered as the day progressed. Hell even the Classics and Derbi's got in on the act and lapped Phakisa faster than ever before.

The day even produced what must be a record in the least number of crashes in a day (especially when compared to Zwartkops where most riders were determined to dismount their bikes in favour of a free trip to hospital). I am not sure if this was as a result of the low number of entries but the crashing was down.

At the riders briefing there was a minutes silence held for our fallen friends who will no longer be with us at the racing such as Antonio and Riaan. Anotnio's partner Maryke did come and pay us all a visit on the day and it must have been tough for her to watch this round - our heartfelt thoughts are with you and their families.

So lets start with the class that is close our hearts

50cc Highschool (those were the days)

This class reminds me a lot of the 125cc MotoGP class where visions of 6 bikes come around the last corner onto the main straight all vying for First. The Friday practice saw young Liam Forbes really fired up for the race and constantly was below the long held record set by Craig Dickenson (2:19:7). In Race 1 Liam won the race by 300th of a second to Brent but the gap from there to young master Stephen Odendaal was 20 odd seconds. The usual suspects were no where near the front this time around.

Heat 2 saw Liam officially break the lap record by 1,4s and posted a very respectable 2:18:304 on his last lap. The gap to Brent this time was nearly 5 seconds and this time 3rd was 18 seconds behind. But this is where it gets interesting. From 3rd to 7th there was only 700th of a second difference. In fact all three of the Odendaal boys (not all related) managed a best lap time for each all within 2000th of a second. That is absolutely fantastic riding and if only some of the "experienced" riders rode at that level of closeness we would have brilliant racing.

Well done 50's for a great days racing and a good show for the "FANS" - like Mom's, Dad's, Uncle's etc

Derbi's

The Derbi's had a rather depleted field with 11 entries but these guys (and gals) rode their hearts out. Unfortunately the lap record was not broken but they rode hard. Heat 2 saw Charl van Niekerk docked 10 points for a jump start and Steven Coetzer win both heats. Young Janine Mitchell did very well by taking second in both Heats with a second overall for the days race. Well done Janine and it is good to see young ladies coming up through the ranks - we should have held the racing on Womens Day and then you would have won - maybe!!!

Superbikes

This was a somewhat depleted class compared to the meeting held in April when over 52 entries were received. This time around there was "only" 23 entries which was still the largest class for the day of all classes. There was also only one National rider there being Clinton Seller.

Heat 1 saw Clinton clear off into the distance with young Ryan Ottens a mere 11 seconds behind. However Clinton broke the lap record for Regional Superbikes by 8 tenths of a second at 1:39:883. That is quite some riding even if I say so myself. Unfortunately the current championship leader and defender of the title Gavin Lightfoot struggled to a 6th in Heat 1 and a 3rd in Heat 2. Gavin is however still trying to get his skitsophrenic Kawasaki to handle like it should - although when you bolt parts together from 3 different donors the bike becomes a bit quirky in its nature.

Clinton Seller again won Heat 2 by a country mile so to speak but that could be because Ryan Ottens was made to start at the back of the grid due to a change in motorcycles (even after clarifying the start procedure with the CoC). Young Ryan charged from last place to tenth by the first corner but he was always going to have to play catch up from there onwards. A great second place means that Ryan took second overall for the day.

A big shout must go out to the "new kid on the block" Clive Rossi de Vossi. The Honda CBR1000RR looked resplended in its gloss black livery but Clive did battle a little at Phakisa. This was his very first race ever and the anticipation and excitement turned to adrenalin as the lights went out. Clive's time was a respectable 1:58:7 which is not bad considering the "awe" of your first race. To put things into perspective this writers first race first lap third corner resulted in a trip to Union Hospital free of charge with a whacked knee. So again Clive you did better than me for your first race.

600cc Silvercup

Again for some very strange reason there were only 12 entries for this class which is most unusual. Normally there are at least 20 plus and we all missed Wilmarie Janse Van Rensburg who is trying to ensure her business is sustainable for the future. Heat 1 and 2 saw the exact same trio cross the line and their times were almost replica's for each race. Unfortunately the lap records did not tumble in this class.

Cheyne Herschel, Allan-Jon Venter and Greg Gildenhuys finished in that order for both heats. However rider no14 - Michael Brewer was penalized 10 points for jumping the gun in Heat 2 - sorry bud but that's the rules.

BOTTS

Our favorite class for nearly old toppies. It is the real old toppies in Classics that are old toppies. Confused yet - because I am. Alzheimer's must be setting in.

For the first time in a long time the Botts had a fantastic days racing. In each Heat there were clusters of races and all close and within seconds of each other. As with all other classes the number of entries was dramatically down from the last race at Phakisa and there was only 14 entrants.

Heat 1 saw Julian and Otto have a close dice up until lap 6 when Julian put his head down and pulled the pin. He won the race by more than 6 seconds with Otto in second. A welcome return saw Johan Lamberts on a new 2005 spec 999s come in 3rd. Julian also managed to break the lap record for Botts at Phakisa by a full 7 tenths of a second with a scorching 1:41:949 - and this was on lap 9. Wayne Shelley of NS 2 Stroke fame and riding a most intriguing bike (a Honda VTR Firestorm - talk about handicapping yourself), had a jump start in Heat 1. To really make his first race a misery he had no grip whatsoever and oh so nearly tossed it away as Gilbert was behind him for most of the race and watched from a distance this bucking bronco. Benji did not have a good race either and I suspect he is still carrying injuries from his misfortune at Zwartkops where a seized brake system caused a spectacular (and f....n expensive) crash on the warm up lap. Benji finished a lowly 8th for Heat 1 and he was way off the pace of his previous best times. Brian Moldenhauer also put in a storming ride to clinch 5th in Heat 1.

Our proverbial "noisy clan" being Gil and Andy had not so bad positions with a 4th and 9th respectfully.

Gilbert unfortunately was riding injured from the previous week's crash at Kyalami and did not enjoy the day as much as he should have. Andy was lapping at his usual leisurely pace of 1:49:09 in Heat 1 not knowing that he could have bettered his best time ever. For some odd reason he changed tactic to confuse us in Botts and managed his best lap for Heat 1 by lap 3 - that is so weird. But Heat 1 was also a delight to watch (so I was told) because from 4th (that was me) to 11th there was a mere 30 odd seconds difference for all these guys crossing the line. Some were as close as 100ths of a second.

Heat 2 was a different story.

Both Julian and Gilbert got blinding starts (Otto has serious trouble keeping his front wheel on the tarmac) but that was only up until turn 2 when Otto literally rode around the outside of 4 riders to go and give chase to Julian. That took some skillful riding because the track was really dusty by Heat 2 from the wind that had picked up. There was also no jump start from Wayne this time and he set off after Johan who was again in third by lap 4. Gilbert was starting to really battle with pain (especially the torn right leg and cracked rib) and he did not fight his position back from Wayne nor Benji. Julian, Otto and Johan again finished in that order but this time Otto had ridden the last lap with a broken mud guard, missing brake lines and a front wheel with brake fluid all over it. Scary thought.

Andy finished in 9th and Gilbert finished in 6th this time around with Brian again hard on his heels in 7th. At least this time round Andy decided that he can crack below his personal best times with a 1:48:802 again in lap 3 - sneaky.

At least I must say all the riders in BOTTS made it a pleasure and all riding was clean and hard.

Hell even old Otto asked me if "I was geworried toe hy agter my was" to which I replied "VERY".

Thanks guys for a great days racing and keeping it fun, hard and clean.

We are now all looking forward to the next race which will be 3rd September at Midvaal - remember Lichtenburg has been moved.

Gilbert Parsons

 

 

This page was last updated on 06-06-2008.