08 Sep RACE REPORT BY HAYLEY – SHORT CIRCUIT RND 7 – 06 SEPTEMBER 2025
On Saturday, 6 September, attempt 2 at Round 7 of Short Circuit Racing commenced –attempt 1 had been postponed due to the bad weather forecasted for Saturday, 9 August.
Qualifying ended smoothly with no mishaps appearing between the three classes: 150 Seniors & Masters, Clubsport & Super Motards, and Fairfield Meat Centre 125 Juniors & Seniors.
Heat 1 of the 150 Seniors & Masters had an easygoing race as Johnny Towers effortlessly took to the finish line in first place with a best lap time of + 55.445 seconds, Nicholas Hutchings in second with a best lap time of +55.849 seconds and Rob de Vos with a best lap time of +56.700 seconds.
Clubsport and Super Motards’ Heat 1 had an exciting start to their first race as most of the bikes wheelied coming off the start. James Strahlendorf completed the race in first place with a best lap time of +53.842 seconds, Slade van Niekerk in second with a best lap time of +53.989 seconds and Bradley Mustoe in third with a best lap time of + 55.876 seconds.
The biggest field of the day, Fairfield Meat Centre’s 125 Juniors & Seniors Heat 1, started with a total of 21 competitors. Nathan Waddington came home with first place in the bag and the best lap time of + 59.985 seconds, Jaques Ackermann scored silver with a best lap time of 1:01.875 seconds while competitor Mario Ferreira scored a best lap time of 1:01.101 seconds.
Heat 2 of the 150 Seniors & Masters suffered a ‘Groundhog Day’ moment when the top three of Heat 1 finished the race in the same positions in Heat 2. This is, Jonny Towers in first with a best lap time of + 55.256 seconds, Nicholas Hutchings with a best lap time of +55.432 seconds and Robin de Vos in third with a best lap time of +56.804 seconds.
Clubsport and Super Motards had an oopsie throughout Heat 2 as Robin de Vos hit the ropes coming out of Bus stop. de Vos swiftly recovered and continued racing while a yellow flag had been called in order for the marshals to straighten out said rope.
A second ‘Groundhog Day’ moment appeared for the day as Clubsport and Super Motards’ top 3 ended Heat 2 in the same order as Heat 1: James Strahlendorf in first with a best lap time of +53.670 seconds, Slade van Niekerk in second with a best lap time of +54.557 seconds and Bradley Mustoe in third with a best lap time of +56.117 seconds.
Nathan Waddington from Fairfield Meat Centre’s 125 Juniors & Seniors had a tough start in Heat 2 as he dropped to 9th from pole position when the lights went out. On the 5th lap, Waddington was back in second place, fighting for the lead before he overtook Jaques Ackermann on the 7th lap. Ackermann took his position back and finished the race in first place by 0.06 seconds.
With 4 laps left to go, a yellow flag had been called as Allister Hyatt went down in Bus stop. A marshal came to Hyatt’s rescue, assisting him with his bike before he managed to continue racing.
Fairfield Meat Centre’s 125 Juniors & Seniors top 3 was Jacques Ackermann (1:00.724 seconds), Nathan Waddington (+59.822 seconds) and Mario Fereirra (1:01.362 seconds) respectively.
Another biker, Adrian Solomon, went down in Bus Stop during the 150 Seniors & Masters’ Heat 3, causing Solomon to DNF. Johnny Towers completed the race in first place with a best lap time of +55.279 seconds, Nicholas Hutchings in second with a best lap time of +55.256 seconds and James Strahlendorf in third with a best lap time of +56.256 seconds.
Slade van Niekerk completed Heat 3 of the ClubSport and Super Motards in first place with a best lap time of + 53.918 seconds, James Strahlendorf in second with a best lap time of +53.917 seconds and Bradley Mustoe with a best lap time of + 56.045 seconds.
Nathan Waddington (+ 59.807 seconds) regained his triumph as he took to the finish line in first place with Jaques Ackerman (1:00.559 seconds) following closely behind in second place and Mario Fereirra in third with a best lap time of 1:01.118 seconds.
A successful day of racing came to an end, half an hour earlier than the timetables suggested.
A big thank you goes out to the officials, marshals and spectators – our unsung heroes.
By Hayley Zaayman