Superbike showdown produces thrills

THRILLING Superbike action was the order of the weekend as the third round of the SuperGP Champions Trophy was battled out at the East London Grand Prix Track on Friday and Saturday.

The event was held in conjunction with the Africa Bike Week which made for a vibey atmosphere over the two days of exhilarating action, which saw five different classes competed including local and national action.

“We had really windy conditions which was off-putting for spectators but it was a good test for the racing guys and gave them a challenge but also made them really fast down the straight with the wind at their backs,” said Border Motorsport PR Dave Kirkman.

“There was some really exciting racing, with some very quick times and two brand new lap records were set by the Superbikes on Saturday.”

The main division was the premier SuperGP category and proved to be a return to form for defending champion Clint Seller who clinched a double victory on Saturday’s race day.

Seller had not had the best start to the season in the first two rounds, despite managing a win in the first race of round two, and had come into the event in fourth place on the log.

A superb effort on a track that he knows well as he trains on it then saw him pick up two well-fought wins.

In the first race Seller finished eight seconds ahead of the hard-chasing Michael White, while Daryn Upton took third place.

The second race was then the most exciting for fans as it took a photo finish to separate Seller from White as they flew over the line together, with Seller awarded the win by less than a second.

A fantastic performance from local East London rider Jason Lamb then saw him take third place in that race, after finishing fifth in the first race.

Despite finishing as runner-up in both races White moved to the top of the SuperGP standings due to it being a miserable weekend for former leader David McFadden who was unable to finish both races, while Seller moves up into second place.

In the Super600 category it was a weekend to remember for Blaze Baker who came into the event third on the overall log and took both wins to boost his title credentials.

Baker beat out the challenge of Adolf Boshoff in a photo finish in the first race and then by nine seconds in the second, while Hayden Jonas took third in race one and Aidan Liebenberg third in race two.

The Super300 category then saw three races which ended with Teric van der Merwe winning the first and last races while finishing second in race two and Dino Iozzo winning race two while finishing runner-up in race one and third in the last race.

In the battle of the twins division Thomas Brown took the wins in race one and two, while Alan Hulscher claimed the victory in race three.

Local Eastern Cape action was then battled out in the Clubman and Breakfast run category and saw Lamb take first place ahead of Kevin Redman in race one and Pierre le Roux in race two, while Le Roux took third in the first race and Garrit Nel third in race two.

“It was a great day of racing, we didn’t have any issues,” added Kirkman.

“The organisers from Johannesburg were really happy and said that everything was looking good and they were looking forward to coming back next year.”