The first round of the Red Square Kawasaki ZX-10R Masters Cup 2017 Championship season kicked off this past weekend at the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria. Part of the annual Day of the Champion, it promised to be an unforgettable day. The days leading up to race day were dogged by miserable rainy and cloudy weather. However, come race day the racers got greeted by a typical hot and sunny Highveld day.
Superpole got off to a fantastic start with Graeme van Breda (IVID Kawasaki) taking pole position. Second on the grid would be Sven Grune and locking out the front row in third was Jaco Gous. Gareth Bezuidenhout qualified in fourth with Teddy Brooke (Brooke Refrigeration) alongside him. Brian Bontekoning rounded up the top 6 starters on the grid.
Race 1
Graeme van Breda took an early lead from the start
Graeme van Breda took an early lead from the start. In the opening laps he built a comfortable gap and never looked back again. This left Sven Grune, Gareth Bezuidenhout, Jaco Gous, Johan le Roux (Avidan Trading), Teddy Brooke and Brian Bontekoning to fight for the second step on the podium. After a few laps Sven Grune and Gareth Bezuidenhout pulled away slightly to battle for second.
Behind them Jaco Gous and Johan le Roux got involved in their own battle for position leaving Teddy Brooke and Brian Bontekoning in their own challenge. Further back Stewart Christie (Eastern Vet) with some new found pace got involved in a good scrap with Sanjiv Singh. Positions were changing hand over fist in all the various battles.
Season newcomer Sfiso Themba started a remarkable race
Season newcomer Sfiso Themba started a remarkable race amongst the backmarkers matching their pace. Sliding into the kitty litter in turn 5 saw his race come to an end.
When the chequered flag came out it was van Breda who took a comfortable win over Grune with Bezuidenhout finishing a close third. A dice to the line saw Gous pip Le Roux for fourth. Just 0.063 of a second separating the two over the line!
Race 2
Exciting and close racing was the order of the day
If race 1 was anything to go by then a heated campaign was expected in race 2. The spectators sure got their money’s worth as the race kicked off. Once again Graeme van Breda took an early lead from the start but could not open as big a gap as he did in the first race.
However, the great excitement and frantic racing was right behind him for second position. This battle was between Sven Grune, Gareth Bezuidenhout, Jaco Gous, Johan le Roux, Teddy Brooke and Brian Bontekoning and in this race they stayed together for all 10 laps!
Grune had his work cut out for him as Gous found new pace and were all over him at every turn, whilst Bezuidenhout and Le Roux was keeping him honest directly behind. Brooke and Bontekoning however had their own ding-dong battle immediately behind and complicated matters to fight the guys in front of them. Further back saw Stewie Christie in another great dice with Sanjiv Singh.
Sfiso Themba was also back in the second race and right back on pace. Something not expected from new campaigners after an off. This shows great courage and it can be expected that he will pick up pace as the season progress. He also received Rider of the Day for his great comeback.
As the chequered flag came out it was van Breda who took the win in front of Grune. Following close behind Grune was Gous finishing in third. Bezuidenhout came fourth and Le Roux rounded up the top 5 for the race. However, a mere 1 second separated the finishers from second to seventh! Brooke came sixth and seventh placed man was Bontekoning. This sure promises to be one of the most exciting seasons for the Red Square Kawasaki ZX-10R Masters Cup!
Sven Grune
Brian Bontekoning
Sanjiv Singh
Greg Bezuidenhout
Jannie Odendaal
Class C
Pos.
No.
Name
1
2
3
4
5
44
93
65
42
83
Johan le Roux
Teddy Brooke
Stewie Christie
Rodney McLachlan
Stuart Russel
Singh and Christie battled all day
The next round of the championship will take place on 21 March 2017 when they return to the Zwartkops Raceway to join the first round of the very popular Extreme Festival.
The Red Square Kawasaki ZX-10R Masters Cup is a one make racing series featuring standard Kawasaki ZX-10R Superbikes and one make tyres namely Bridgestone. Remaining one of the largest and most successful motorcycle racing categories in South Africa it is classed as a National Challenge and divided into three classes: Masters for riders 35 to 42 years of age, Veterans for riders 43 to 50 years of age and Senior Veterans for rider 51 years of age and up. For more information on the Red Square Kawasaki ZX-10R Masters Cup visit their website: zx10cup.co.za
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