Clint Seller (NeoLife Africa Yamaha R1) rode a superbly controlled race in atrocious conditions to take a well-deserved win in the first of two scheduled SuperGP races at the East London Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday, 25 July 2015. Unfortunately, after his win, the weather conditions deteriorated to such an extent that the remainder of the day’s proceedings were cancelled by the race officials in the interests of safety.
In the only Super600 race of the day Adolf Boshoff (Indy Oil Toy Store Kawasaki ZX6) was a comfortable winner despite a crash. William Friend extended his lead in the SuperJunior championship after winning a race that went down to the line.
The weather was cold and windy but dry for the morning practice and qualifying sessions but the run off areas were very wet and slippery leading to a number of crashes as the riders got themselves prepared for the races. Brandon Goode (EmTek Racing Nashua Yamaha R1) had a spectacular high side at Cocabana which brought his race day to a premature end but the rest of the fallers managed to make it through the sessions. Luckily Goode’s injuries were not serious and he returned to the track after a precautionary trip to the local hospital.
Because of the delays caused by the crashes, it was decided that the SuperPole session for the SuperGP riders would be cancelled and they would line up according to the times they set in the qualifying session. Seller claimed yet another pole, almost a full second ahead of Lance Isaacs on the Black Swan Racing / BMW Motorrad S1000RR with Mathew Scholtz (EmTek Racing Nashua Yamaha R1) completing the front row of the grid. The second row was made up of Nicholas Kershaw (Tsunami Beach Bar / BMW Motorrad S1000RR), Kyran De Lange (Bavarian Motorcycles / Silverton Midas BMW S1000RR) and Garrick Vlok (Pre-empt, Diamond Core Drilling Kawasaki ZX10). Sandra Stammova (511 Racing BMW S1000RR) headed the third row.
By the time the first race got underway, the rain that had been threatening all morning had arrived with a vengeance. When the lights went out Isaacs grabbed the early lead but it did not last long. He slid off before the end of the first lap and, although he was able to remount, his challenge for the win was effectively over. Seller took over at the front and was never headed on his way to a comfortable win. Scholtz came home in second over 15 seconds behind with de Lange crossing the line in third. Unfortunately a misunderstanding of the rules saw de Lange excluded for a technical infringement. This promoted Kershaw to third and Isaacs to fourth.
Dylan Bowles (Adventure Land, Coral Tree Cottages Yamaha) was the only SuperM rider to make it onto the grid and managed to make it unscathed to the flag.
Super600
Steven Odendaal (NeoLife Africa Yamaha R6) claimed pole from Adolf Boshoff (Indy Oil Toy Store Kawasaki ZX6) and Blaze Baker (Russell Wood Kawasaki ZX6) in the Super600 class. The second row of the grid was headed by Anthony Shelley (EmTek Racing Nashua Yamaha R6) with Michael White (Consortium Shipping Kawasaki ZX6) and Daryn Upton (Turn-Skill Engineering / RSA Racing Kawasaki ZX6) alongside him.
The race was the first of the day run in the rain and almost every rider in the field fell at some stage. Baker was the first, going down on the first lap while challenging for the lead. Boshoff revelled in the conditions and opened up a 15 second gap over the chasing pack before he slid off the track. This allowed Odendaal to take over at the front before conditions caught him out as well. He managed to re-mount, but a broken left handlebar put paid to his chances of a win. He managed to bring his Yamaha home in second, a sterling effort with only one bar. Odendaal’s misfortune allowed Boshoff back into the lead although the Kawasaki rider didn’t realize it. He reeled off a string of incredibly quick laps considering the conditions, setting the fastest lap of 1:30.995 two laps before the flag. Upton, in his first outing in a Super600 race this season, claimed the final step of the podium despite a fall early in the race. Darien Kayser (Uncle Andy Racing / Fourways Motorcycles Kawasaki ZX6) crossed the line in fourth ahead of Dylan Barnard (Kawasaki ZX6) and White.
SuperJunior
Capetonian Kewyn Snyman grabbed pole position on the SuperJunior grid from championship leader William Friend by just seven hundredths of a second with Brandon Staffen completing the front row. Dominic Doyle, Lance Marais and Tyreece Robert filled the second row.
There were a few spots of rain around as the race started but they were only a foretaste of what was to come for the other classes and the race was run on a dry track. Friend made the early running with Staffen and Snyman in close attendance. Staffen took the lead with a couple of laps to go but there was nothing between the top three. All of them were vying for the win coming into the final corner with late braking moves the order of the day. Friend, who was third going into the corner, emerged in the lead and managed to hold on in the drag to the line to take the flag just over two tenths of a second ahead of Snyman with Staffen a couple of bike lengths further back. There was another three-way battle behind the leading trio. That one eventually went the way of Doyle with Marais and Robert in fifth and sixth respectively.
The DEOD SuperGP Champions Trophy moves back inland for the next round with is scheduled to take place at Red Star Raceway in Delmas on 22 August 2015.