Seller clinches Superbike title
Ultra close racing, brilliant spectacle and the emergence of a new South African champion typified rounds 15 and 16 of the South African motorcycle championship at Western Killarney on Saturday.
JOY: Clinton Seller celebrates at Killarney, after clinching this year’s SA Superbike Championship. Picture: Dave Ledbitter.
Clinton Seller who clinched the unlimited Superbike title on his PS Czank Kawasaki. Saturday’s events started in dramatic fashion when Aran van Niekerk parted company with his Stunt SA Kawasaki halfway through the first lap of the opening Superbike race.
Van Niekerk fell heavily at over 170 km/h and the race was red-flagged while he was transported to hospital with a broken collarbone and severe bruising.
After the restart Chris Leeson (Motorrad BMW) and Malcolm Rapson (Kawasaki) came together in the first corner and ran wide, dropping both riders out of contention. That left Seller and Nicolas Grobler (Pta North Toyota Kawasaki) to fight for the lead.
Seller eventually won followed closely by Grobler, Ronald Slamet (Mike Hopkins Kawasaki), Dylan White (Brother Yamaha), Ryan Ottens (Motorrad BMW) and a recovered Leeson.
Leeson’s woes continued at the start of race two when his motorcycle selected a box full of neutrals leaving him stranded as the pack tore off. Grobler led but fell off in Cape Town Corner two laps later.
Seller went on to win again but the ride of the race came from Leeson who scythed through the field in demented fashion. He caught the leading bunch after six laps and finally emerged with a well earned second place ahead of Slamet, Rapson, White and Garick Vlok (Kawasaki).
The 600 Supersport brigade produced the day’s closest race result. After 10 laps of furious dicing Cam Petersen (Liqui Moly MV Agusta) won the first heat from local hero Lance Isaacs (Pta North Toyota Kawasaki) by one hundreth of a second. Third, less than a second adrift, was Nicholas Kershaw (Race Bike Rentals Kawasaki).
Heat two saw a furious battle for the lead between Petersen, Isaacs, Kershaw, Harran and Wasserfal. The pace claimed victims when Harran outbraked himself at the end of the pit straight and Wasserfal fell off in Cape Town Corner.
It boiled down to the final corner and Kershaw was brilliant, outbraking his adversaries to win from Petersen and Isaacs with the triocovered by less than half a second over the finish line with Dean Vos (Brother Yamaha), Anthony Shelley and Brent Harran filling out the top six places.
