Delmas’ Ryno Pretorius does well in East London Grand Prix

Delmas motorcycle racer, Ryno Pretorius (22), competed on his #76 Yamaha 600cc in the East London Grand Prix.

During the practice round on Friday, July 29, Pretorius ended the day with personal best lap times.

“I felt comfortable, my bike worked well and I felt ready for the race,” said Pretorius.

During the qualifying rounds on Saturday, July 30, a confident team with Pretorius’s mechanic, Alfie Swanepoel send Pretorius on the track.

He did three laps of which one was a personal best with 1:23.9 on the clock.

This put Pretorius in pole position ahead of the race.

Unfortunately, bad luck struck when he crushed his bike in the S at the first left-hander.

“We managed to get the bike to the pits and worked very hard to fix it before the race would commence.”

According to Pretorius, they discovered the whole sub-frame and the front forks of his #76 Yamaha 600cc had bent.

The team, however, fixed the bike to the best of their ability and he was able to get onto the track for the race.

According to Pretorius, he did well in race one, but he had to fight it out with a couple of 1000cc bikes to end up in a better position.

“I managed to take the win by a few seconds.

“During the second race, there was nothing we could do to make the bike handle better due to the bent forks.”

Pretorius had to take on the race to the best of his ability, especially with his Yamaha not in top condition.

“From start to finish it was a dice between Pretorius and Graigen Nel for the first and second place.

“We would swap places numerous times. I think, due to the bike not being in the best condition, I finished in second place.

“All in all, the weekend turned out really good, I gained 45 valuable points and I am, for the first time, leading the championship.”

“I would like to thank #pretoriusblomme and #liquimoly for their continuous support, it is much appreciated,” Pretorius concluded.