World of Motorcycles a new dawn for local two wheel racing
New series aim to reduce costs and ensure closing racing without a barrage of restrictions.
The NGK Ultimate Superbike Shootout series caters for anything on two wheels, in any state of tune, on any tyres. Picture: Eric Buijs.
Common sense, prudent planning and wide co-operation seem to be in the process of saving South African motorcycle circuit racing.
The sport was in dire straits two years ago, with rising costs and shrinking entry lists going hand in hand, especially at national level. Then Covid-19 came last year, with the resultant lockdown of circuits spelling doom for local motorsport.
When circuit racing resumed this year, national championship Superbike racing had a total of six prospective entries. That has caused administrators Motorsport South Africa to pull the plug on the championship.
Sanity prevailed, however, with a structure created to accommodate the many privateers who still wanted to race, free of restrictive and expensive regulations. Enter the World of Motorcycles, which has run four successful race meetings this season.
“We created a place for bike riders to come and play, by saying we would provide a place for you to race, whatever you bring to our events,” says organiser and Clerk of the Course Chris Botha.
The World of Motorcycles kicks off with a Street Bike class, where you can literally race whatever you arrive with at an event. The quicker riders will eventually be told to advance to the Super Street Bike category.
After that, there are classes for 600 cc and 1 000 cc Superbikes, that can run in any state of tune, on whichever tyres the riders choose. There are also classes for Masters over the age of 40, a Battle of the Twins category for Ducatis and KTMs, plus Historic and Vintage machines.
All the riders can compete on Motorsport South Africa Day licences, and there are no restrictions regarding technical specification or tyres.
At the end of the day, there are cash and other prizes for things like the Rider of the Day, the Spirit of the Day and the Most Improved Rider of the Weekend – mostly winning free entries to the next race of the year. Riders score points per race, with World of Motorcycle titles declared at the end of the year.
Recently, reigning South African Superbike champion Clinton Seller introduced the NGK Ultimate Superbike Shootout category at the top of the tree. The quest of this class is simple – to find South Africa’s Ultimate Superbike racer.
The idea is to throw the rule-book away, with no regulations regarding motorcycle specification or tyres. Sponsored by NGK Spark Plugs, the class drew 15 entries the last time, with the marques represented being Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati and Aprilia.
Both the World of Motorcycles and the NGK Ultimate Superbike Shootout have a large social media presence, with some 4.5 million YouTube viewers thus far.
To find out more about the series, contact Chris Botha at 071 631 1366.
