RACE REVIEW – EXTREME FESTIVAL – BIKES RACE REPORT 5 MARCH 2022

RACE REVIEW – EXTREME FESTIVAL – BIKES RACE REPORT 5 MARCH 2022

LOCAL HEROES LEAD THE CHARGE IN ZX10 MASTERS CUP

Local riders used their home track advantage to advantage in the SunBet ZX10 Masters Cup races at the Extreme Festival powered by the City of Cape Town at Killarney on Saturday 5 March as they finished placed first, second third and fourth in both races at the opening round of this one-make national championship series.

But that was only after 20 laps of world-class two-wheeled racing on identical Kawasaki ZX-10R superbikes shod with identical Bridgestone tyres, with winning margins as close as six hundredths of a second and elbow-to-elbow racing throughout the field.

Pole-sitter Ronald Slamet pulled a huge wheelie off the start in Race 1, handing the advantage to Trevor Westman, with David Enticott and Rob Cragg in close pursuit. Slamet, however, was not about to let the short-circuit veteran get away without a fight, and stayed with him all the way, while Cragg soon came under pressure from multiple Masters Cup champion Graeme van Breda, who demoted the local man top fifth on lap five

The action in midfield was hectic, as places were traded on every lap, but Slamet was closing on Westman at the sharp end. He made his move and grabbed the lead two laps from the end but was unable to shake the tow.

As the two leaders entered the final corner nose to tail, a lap later, a momentary hesitation caused by a back-marker was enough for Westman; the two came up the hill onto the Porsche Club straight almost side by side but it was Westman who had a wheel in front at the moment of truth. Enticott came home a distant third while Cragg slipped past the reigning champion on the final lap to finish fourth.

Slamet pulled another wheelie off the line at the start of Race 2 but controlled it better to dive into Turn 1 ahead of Enticott, Van Breda and Westman. By the end of lap one, however, Westman was up into second, Cragg was third ahead of Enticott and Van Breda had slipped back to 10th.

That set the scene for an epic chase as Westman threw everything he had into catching Slamet but was unable to get close enough to make a challenge that would stick. It was noticeable that Slamet was able to hold a tighter line through Hoals Hoek, although Westman was able to close the gap elsewhere on the circuit.

Jayson lamb passed Brian Bontekoning for fifth on lap three and Enticott demoted Cragg from third on lap five – but the focus was on the chase at the front, as Slamet came home 0.663sec ahead of Westman to take the overall honours for the day, followed by Enticott, Cragg, Lamb and Bontekoning.

With a win and a second apiece, however, the two Capetonians held the joint lead in the SunBet ZX10 Masters Cup rankings after the first round.