Scooter 101 Round 4 Review

I don’t think anyone wanted to go racing on the 9th of July, having to wake up at 5am and pack the scoots and kit to head to Kyalami Kart Track in 1º C weather is never fun! But yet we all did it and when I arrived at the track at 5:30am in the dark my eyes were not deceiving me when I saw at least 10 guys all set-up with portable shades open and scoots parked all nicely and snug. One thing I did notice on that morning was a separation between the mini-moto guys and us scooter 101’ers. They pitted on the other side of the pits and we all crowded down the start finish fence! Just shows we 101’ers all stick together so best be careful!

After registration was done the gates to the track opened and the stock scoots all headed out for their warm up session. The hardest part of this was to try warm up, especially our tyres! The track was so cold it took more than the usual 1 lap to warm up our tyres. Open classes turn was next and I think it was even worse for them as the more horse power they put down the more that back tyre started spinning.. I was graciously lent a Vespa 300 by the Malossi team to race in the open class and all I can say is WOW. That beast is one heavy, stable but hard-to-ride scoot. I tried my best to do them proud!

Warm ups were done and everyone hit the cafe to get there hourly dose of hot chocolate and coffee.

Qualifying time!

Stock class went out and started their qualifying. The front runners were the 2 Jonway C5 300’s then the Vespa 300 and then me on my PGO 110 2-stroke. I can see this class changing to all 4-stroke scooters soon as they just dominate on the tracks with their horse power! I had to ride the balls off my PGO to try keep up as well as to try keep ANOTHER Jonway 180cc Galactica off my ass. But after qualifying it was pretty much the same as round 3 with, Jaco in 1st, Clinton Achadinha in 2nd and Louw Du Toit in 3rd then little old me in 4th.

Open class was another story! With some insane scooters from the Malossi, PRD and MOC racing tents everyone was over everyone! It was hard to get really good qualifying times when the track was packed with 32 riders but it seemed that Shannon Tarr, Jeremy Pincus and Eric Flowerday and Dean Wheeler got in the best times of the day and got them on that front line position.

Qualifying was done and everyone ……………….. RAN to the shop for more coffee!

Heat 1, 2 and 3 were all almost exactly the same in stock class with the 2 Jonway C5300’s taking 1st and 2nd, all over each other Jaco and Clinton fought it to the end in every race but the positions stayed the same, then Louw coming in at 3rd and a bit behind him I came in 4th in every race but somehow heat 2 & 3 I had the 180cc Galactica all over my ass which made some good racing and a few times saw his front wheel edge in on my inside but he just couldn’t get the pass to stick. So by day end the final standings were:

Jaco Joubert in 1st – Jonway C5300 (Doc Bike & Scoot), Clinton Achadinha in 2nd – Jonway C5300 (Scooter101) and Louw Du Toit in 3rd – Vespa 300 (Malossi SA)

Open class Heat 1 & 2 were insane with 32 riders on the grid. We had a few new comers like Fernando Da Silva racing for his first time and thrown into the open class. After each race all we heard was “THIS IS FRIKEN AWESOME!” Just shows you anyone can come race and have a jol! I was finally on the grid in open class as well and could now see for myself just how insane this class is! All 32 of us pinned it to the first hairpin corner trying to cut, bump, shoulder smash everyone next to us into the ground so we could just get that one extra place before the pack split up after a few laps. The next 3 or 4 laps were still insane with scooters all over the place and everyone taking different lines to try pass was making it very difficult to not bump into or rub against someone! No one minded though as they were all in the “RACING ZONE!”

Both Heats ended with some close racing in front where Eric, Dean, Shannon and Jeremy were all fighting for the win!

Heat 3 was the decider and Eric was one of the most nervous, ‘cause if Dean had to win this race Eric’s chances to take the championship would be a lot harder. So the pressure was on.

As the riders lined up you could feel the tension in the air, plus it was frikken cold still. They all looked at the lights and waited for the red lights to turn. It was INSANE! Loud 2-stroke and 4-stroke scooter engines deafening the sounds of the crowd going crazy! The first corner was chaos but the front runners didn’t see what they caused in mid pack where Ray Hansmeyer was bumped from the left and right and lost the front but only to be ridden over by 2 scooters behind him (He got up like a trooper and finished the race!). The race was on between Dean Wheeler and Eric with Jeremy trying his best to take them both. As they fought Dean and Eric were slowing down by taking defensive lines. This is when Jeremy pounced and took 2nd place. The race in mid pack was insane and looked like the SBK race with a million passes and a gazillion close calls! Nothing entertained the crowd more! The checkered flag came out and first to ride under it was Eric Flower day.

So after Heat 3 in open class the results were:

Eric Flowerday in 1st – PGO (Malossi SA), Jeremy Pincus in 2nd – PGO (PRD Racing), Dean Wheeler in 3rd – BWS (SAVA Racing)

Everyone had a great day and a HUGE shout out to DMD who sponsored some insane prizes for all 3 riders in both classes including some HD bullet cams and goggle cams. AlpineStars who came through to check out the event and show off some of their awesome stock and gave us shirts and caps for the top 3 riders in both classes.

Scooter 101 2

Scooter 101 3

Scooter 101 4

Scooter 101 5

scooter 101 6

scooter 101 7

scooter 101 8

Scooter 101

Thanks to Scooter 101 sponsors who always deliver and bring their “A” game!

• JONWAY Motorcycles (Who have the fastest scoot in stock class)

• Malossi SA (For the fastest & most reliable race scoot mods in SA)

• DC Shoes (Who have the best style in the game)