Alberton father and son enjoy thrill of motorcycle racing
Racing champ Jhandre hit the Zwartkops Raceway track together with his father Martin Fourie over the weekend, bringing back trophies.
Shortly after the MRSSA Sub 500 race at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, New Redruth’s racing champ Jhandre Fourie had another busy weekend.
On February 10, together with his father, Martin, they arrived at Red Star Raceway fresh and early for some practice on the Kawasaki ZX6R.
The 16-year-old quickly got used to the powerful machine and did some respectable times, seeing this was his first time on this track with a big machine.
His father rode with him on track with his Suzuki GSXR 750, to run the motor in, as they had just had it rebuilt by TT Motorsport.
They both shared the day with very fast riders and Jhandre learnt a lot by following their race lines. They also shared the day with the Sun Bet ZX10R Master Cup.
After very trying sessions on the track, they packed up to get ready for Zwartkops Raceway the next day.
“We were very fortunate to be invited to the Zwartkops Brunch Run and Thunder Bikes Club Race series. I have never ridden this race track before, so I was very excited as one of our MRSSA Sub 500 races will be held there on July 5 and 6,” Jhandre explained.
Good day for racing
On Sunday morning, they arrived at Zwartkops Raceway bright and early.
“My dad entered with me because he rode there before and could show me some tricks. We got ready for practice, and disaster struck as the Suzuki had an oil leak, and my dad couldn’t go out with me. He just told me to stay focused and learn from the other riders. I had a superb practice, but still messed up a couple of corners,” said Jhandre.
His father managed to sort out the Suzuki and they were ready for qualifying. Jhandre managed a qualifying time of one minute 15 seconds, on par with some great riders of the day in his class.
“In race one, I managed again to better my time with another second, down to one minute 14 seconds and won the first heat in my class. This was amazing for me. Race two, we had a big collision between two riders and the red flag came out,” he explained.
They lined up again, but stood on the grid for 15-plus minutes while they cleaned up the scene, “This was very nerve-wracking as our tyres were getting cold and unsafe.”
When race two restarted, they had one warm lap to get some heat in their tyres.
“My dad belted off like a bat out of hell, so now I knew how hard I could push with the restart. My dad and I had a lightning start as the other riders were still nervous about tyre temperature. I had my best race again, dropped another second of my time, one minute and 13 seconds,” Jhandre said.
This also ensured that he won heat two in his class again.
Sweet victory
His father managed an impressive second-place win for the day in his class.
“Not bad considering he was still running the motor in, and the last time he rode there was 10 years ago. I finished the day with a solid first-place finish in my class. I hope that my progress so far will catch the eye of some sponsors for my future career, any help will be appreciated,” he said.
Jhandre thanked his parents [Scale-Tech Weighing Services] for their sponsorship and support.
His next round will be on February 17 at the Red Star Raceway, RSR Club Race.
“After that is MRSSA, on March 1 and 2, also at Red Star Raceway. We basically have a race meeting every month this year; Red Star Raceway, Zwartkops Raceway, Kyalami, and Midvaal Raceway. Thank you to all my supporters, all and any help is appreciated,” he explained.
Should you wish to sponsor Jhandre towards his bike racing journey, kindly email his father, Martin Fourie, at martin@stws.co.za
WATCH: Local motorbike racing champ (16) takes impressive second place
