BIKE PREVIEW - Posted: 01/06/2010

It sounds a little off-beat but, now that the mouse is away, the cats can safely come out to play.

David "MacFlash" McFadden, who rattled more than a few cages at the previous round of the Suzuki South Motorcycle championship when he beat the Cape's top litre-class riders on a Honda CBR600RR to take overall honours for the day, will be away this weekend competing in a WesBank Super Series National meeting at Kyalami and will miss Saturday's fourth round of the Regional series.

That means the litre-class riders will get the chance to battle it out among themselves without any interference from 600cc upstarts and, more specifically, the "quiet man" of the class, Malcolm Rapson will have the perfect opportunity to show whether his Honda Fireblade is capable of beating the Putoline ZX-10R of reigning WP champion Rob Cragg.

Cape Town's unpredictable weather is always a factor, especially at winter meetings such as this one, and wet conditions often favour the better-funded teams, who have access to state-of-the-art "wet" tyres and tyre warmers. It's astonishing just how hard it is possible to ride in the rain on the right rubber.

With the top players away at Kyalami the 600cc Challenge field also offers a chance for up-and-coming riders to shine, notably Aran van Niekerk and Ryan Snyman, (each on a Yamaha R6) while Van Niekerk's father Mark van der Walt (Suzuki GSX-R600) and Adam Wright (Yamaha R6) will represent the more grown-up generation.

Caught somewhere in the middle will be Paul Medell with his powerful but clumsy Konica Minolta RSV Mille (whoever thought we'd say that about an Italian bike!). Medell and his crew have improved the big V-twin's set-up with every outing so far and he may just be able to ride it up to its potential this weekend; pencil him in under "horses, dark".

Inclement weather will also favour the incredibly responsive Honda RS125 grand prix bikes of Luca Agostinelli and Jordan Weaving; stand by for another instalment in the Battle of the Bumblebees, with the two teenage hotshots under hot pursuit by Honda VFR400 riders Shane Wasserfall, Fran Engelbrecht and Ashley Aldridge.

Tony Jones' superbly prepared Cagiva 650 Alazzurra must start as favourite in the Vintage Superbike Class while Buddy Ekron and his Kawasaki Z1A will be the stars of the Classic Class.

MOTORCYCLE HISTORY

Motorcycle racing had a large following in South Africa during the late seventies and early eighties due to the increasing vogue of motorcycles following the oil crises of the time. In the mid-eighties, oil got cheaper and motorcycles became less popular. Up to this point, there were strong provincial and national racing programs. Thereafter, motorcycle racing died in Cape Town and diminished around the country.

Early in 1991, a group of enthusiasts led by a local motorcycle shop, got together and held a "riding school" to encourage track racing as opposed to the dangerous "breakfast runs" which take place on the local passes.

From this first school, a three-race series was held to measure rider's enthusiasm for the real thing. This series was very successful, with 30 riders on the grid for the first race. In 1992 a club championship was started. The growth in the Section lead to the formation of a Regional Championship in 1996.

Part of the success of our Section must be attributed to the "run what you brung" formula. Over the years the most astonishing machines have been raced at Killarney. However, the advent of "grey" bikes has seen an upsurge in the popularity of the 400cc class. These wonderful little machines now represent 50% of the grid and they hold a championship within the regional series.

Competitors with more money available to them race 600cc or larger machines. Different motorcycles have different strengths and consequently, the variety at Killarney means lots of overtaking, which is the essence of exciting racing.

Since 1992, we have used the "time-based" formula for deciding the classes (A to D), into which competitors are placed. This method combines the talents of the riders with the capability of their machines to fit the combination into a lap-time slot. As they improve, they are able to move from one class to another. After each race, riders are awarded points for position in their class. At the end of the season, Motorsport South Africa declares the rider with the most points Regional Champion. Individual Class Champions are declared by the Section.

The Motorcycle Section has grown in strength from the early days when we had to telephone each other for encouragement and assist in repairing bikes just to make the minimum requirement for the grid. The smallest number of entrants on the grid in the past year was 32 riders and our average for this season was 37 riders. We now offer exhilarating and colourful racing which is very popular amongst the spectators, as evidenced by the number of telephone calls the WPMC receives requesting motorcycle race times on a race day.