RACE REVIEW – POWER SERIES #3 – BIKES – 1 APRIL 2023

05 Apr RACE REVIEW – POWER SERIES #3 – BIKES – 1 APRIL 2023

KEWYN IN COMMAND IN POWER SERIES SUPERBIKES

Kewyn Snyman once again showed his world-class status as he romped away from the Triumph Motorcycles Superbikes/Superbike Challenge/Masters/600 field on his vintage Missile Motorcycles Fireblade to record two emphatic race wins at Round 3 of the Power Series presented by Wingfield Motors and Smile 90.4 FM at Killarney on Saturday 1 April.

Behind him Alex van den Berg (GFP Superbikes GSX-R1000) got into a three-way battle for second in Race 1 with defending champion Malcolm Rapson (Racebase GSX-R1000) and hotshot teenager Tristin Pienaar, punching way above his weight on a Yamaha R6. The three finished in that order within 1.2 seconds after an epic dice. Brad Bodsworth was the first Superbike Challenge rider home in eighth overall.

Van den Berg started Race 2 in fine style, chasing Snyman for all he was worth, until the Suzuki’s output sprocket came loose and sprayed oil all over the back tyre. He managed to save the resulting high-side but his race was run. Meanwhile, Rapson and Pienaar were delivering an action replay of their earlier dice, swopping places on almost every lap, coming home in that order separated by just 0.255sec. Bodsworth was again the first Superbike Challenge rider home in eighth overall.

When life hands you lemons, they say, make lemonade – or in Ewert Koorts’ case, victory champagne. Koorts was leading the first South Motorcycles Clubmans/Classic Superbikes/Breakfast Run Motorcycles race when he highsided in Pertamina Fastron corner on lap four, handing the race to hotshot teenager Keana Strode (Kawasaki ZX-6R), ahead of Willem Louw (Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Jayson Bulterman’s Power Steering Solutions BMW F800.

Wayne Gresse was the first Classic Superbike home on a first-generation Yamaha R1 in fourth overall, while top Breakfast Runner was Phillip Rimmer in ninth overall on his Iron Horse Relocations R1.

Koorts meanwhile, remounted and finished on the same lap as the leaders in 12^th overall. He was back for Race 2, running consistently within half a second of his times in the earlier outing and held off a determined effort by Strode to come home almost two seconds clear of the Kawasaki, with Louw and Bulterman following at a respectful distance. Gresse was the top Classic rider, this time in sixth overall, just head of leading Breakfast Runner Ryan Smuts (Honda CBR1000).

Nicholas Hutchings on the HSC SV650 posted two lights-to-flag victories in the Bridgestone STC 650/SSP300 races – but that’s not to say he had it all his own way. He was chased all the way in Race 1 by Ryan Coetzee (Project 60 SA Ninja 650) who finished less than half a second in arrears after shaking off a determined challenge from Zante Otto on the Missile Motorcycles SV650.

Race 2 was an action replay of the first edition – except that Coetzee was unable to break away from Ms Otto; the two finished in that order, just 0.156sec apart, 5.7 seconds behind Hutchings.

Adrian Solomon on the ULAG/Pool King Ninja 400 topped the SSP300 rankings in both races, finishing well clear of Arno Erasmus (Mag Workshop KTM RC390) and teenager Abigail Bosson on the Ateka/Project Sixty SA/Calberg YZF R3 in Race 1. Race 2 saw Raymond Alexander displace Ms Bosson for third in class by a heartbreaking 0.078sec after the dice of the race.