National drags to light up Bay

Port Elizabeth's Aldo Scribante Race Track is set for a change of race pace when the first and second rounds of the South African National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship visits on Saturday.

The national bikes will share the Scribante strip with the opening rounds of the Eastern Province Regional and Club Racing Championship races in an adrenaline-filled day of drag racing.

The National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship consists of two classes — the SB Superbike Elimination class, catering for modified machines racing on a stock wheelbase with a 50mm ride height. The SS Superbike Shootout class has no limit on engine and chassis modifications except that the motorcycles need to be no less than 150mm longer than their standard kin.

SB Superbike Elimination machines are expected to run into the mid-9-second quarter-mile at around 250km/h and races are run on a handicap basis — so consistency counts and that is probably why veteran multiple SA champion Pieter de la Rey is the man to beat on his BMW S1000 RR.

The Germiston drag racer will go up against the likes of Cape Town’s former SA champion and 2018 PE winner Sharief Reynolds, Jevon and Byron Johnson, Kawasaki-mounted Stuart Smith’s Kawasaki Ninja, another former SA champion in Jerry Lombard on his Suzuki, Shaun Vermaak's Yamaha and Greg Browne on a Victory.

The Superbike Shootout (SS) is a more technical class, run on a straight performance knock-out basis and has attracted a large Cape contingent of late.

Racing in the mid-8 second quarter-mile bracket at speeds of over 255km/h, SA champion Reece Robertson and his BMW S1000 RR will be the man to beat for the likes of Suzuki riders Zafar Hoosen from Benoni and Deon Potgieter (Suzuki), Dayaan Padayachey (Kawasaki) and Keith Moonsamy on another BMW.

The national bikes will be backed up by regional and club cars, which promise a quick and varied field with the quickest competitors challenging to break the 10-second barrier.

Among the cars to keep an eye on are Dean Bosman's Mazda RX-7, Craig Lawrence in a Porsche, Quintice Fouche, Gordon Nicholson and Jacques Klase’s Nissan GT-Rs; Willie Fouche‘s Nissan, Dinnesh Bhagarette’s rapid Golf and Hassan Moosa's Mercedes-AMG A45 as well as a few intriguing machines like Terry Lantz in a BMW-Lexus V8 and Glen Leonie’s Nissan-Mazda Rotary Turbo.

Gates open from 8am till late and entry is R60 per adult, while kids under 12 are free.