26 Oct RACE REPORT: SHORT CIRCUIT RACING – 23 OCTOBER 2021
SUPERB FINALE FOR KILLARNEY SHORT CIRCUIT SERIES
The final round of the 2021 Short Circuit series at Killarney on Saturday 23 October delivered superb racing in perfect conditions, despite the early threat of rain that had many competitors looking anxiously upwards during the qualifying sessions. By the time racing proper got underway, however, the sky had cleared and perfect spring weather had returned.
The headline CBR150 one-make Juniors and Seniors set the tone for the day’s events with three hard-fought races, including five changes of lead in the second half of Race 1 as series champion Slade van Niekerk fought it out for line honours with Tristin Pienaar – but it was Pienaar who was ahead (by just six tenths of a second!) when the chequered flag came down after 10 cliff-hanger laps, with HSC rider Nicholas Hutchings third.
That was just what Van Niekerk needed to get him revved up, and he walked away to win Race 2 by seven seconds from Pienaar, while Hutchings and former Superbike racer Donovan Le Cok fought it out for third, with Hutchings getting the nod by little more than a second. Race 3 saw Van Niekerk in command again, while Hutchings took the fight for second to Pienaar, finishing just 0.584sec ahead after a race-long dice.
Billy de Beer took the shine out of Super Singles champion David Lindemann in their first outing, holding off a determined challenge from Lindemann to win by a quarter of a second, with Willy van Niekerk a distant third. That, of course, put the Class Champion on his mettle, and he turned up the wick in Race 2 to win by 14 seconds from Nicholas Hutchings and De Beer.
Race 3 was also a Lindemann benefit, with Hutchings passing early challenger De Beer on lap four to take a hard-earned second, with Van Niekerk fourth.
Rohan Swanepoel took an early lead in the first Super Motard race, but soon had to give way to Matthew Vismer, who went on to win all three races, with Swanepoel second and Nenad Veljanovic third in each outing.
Caleb Boniface took the narrowest of wins from Aaron Lindemann in the first Mini Moto race, with rookie Hudson Friederich (son of former Powersport champion JP Friederich) a surprise third in his first ever race. Friederich the Second followed up his debut podium with solid fourths in Races 2 and 3, behind Boniface, Lindemann and Storm Williams in each outing.
Ryan Kat was forced out while leading the first Formula M race by an electrical gremlin, leaving Fuaat Gamiet to win from Roy Reed. It took Kat a while to find and fix the problem, causing him to miss Race 2, which was won by Gamiet from Shaakir Holliday and Reed, but he was back for a battle royal with Gamiet in Race 3, which he won by less than two seconds, with Holliday third and Reed fourth.