SA Drag Racing champs set for full throttle action
Port Elizabeth is in for a change of racing pace when the double-header first and second rounds of the SA National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship visits the Aldo Scribante Race Track on Saturday March 2.
The national bikes will share the Scribante strip with the opening Eastern Province Regional and Club Racing Championship races in what promises to be an adrenalinefilled day of top drag racing.
The National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship comprises two classes, SB Superbike Elimination catering for modified machines racing on a stock wheelbase with a 50mm ride height, while SS Superbike Shootout has no limit on engine and chassis modifications except that the motorcycles need to be no less than 150mm longer than their standard kin.
SB Superbike Elimination machines run a mid-9-second quarter-mile at around a 250km/h terminal velocity and races are run on a handicap basis – so consistency counts and that is probably why veteran multiple SA champion Pieter de la Rey is the one to beat on his BMW S1000 RR.
The Germiston drag wizard will have to deal with the likes of similar machines ridden by Cape Town’s former SA champion and last year’s PE winner Sharief Reynolds and Jevon and Byron Johnson, Kawasaki-mounted Stuart Smith’s Kawasaki Ninja, another former SA champion Jerry Lombard from Krugersdorp on his Suzuki, Shaun Vermaak's Yamaha and Greg Browne on a Victory.
Racing in the mid-8 second quarter-mile bracket at speeds of over 255km/h, SA champion Reece Robertson and his BMW S1000 RR will be the one to beat for the likes of Suzuki riders Benoni rider Zafar Hoosenn from Benoni and Deon Potgieter (Suzuki), Dayaan Padayachey (Kawasaki) and Keith Moonsamy on another BMW.
Gates are open from 8am till late and entry is R60 per adult, while kids under 12 are free.
The drags promise great family racing entertainment.