Monster race goes to Red Star

The all-new national championship series will have eight rounds, one each per month from March, with the final round, at Phakisa in October, forming part of the South African round of the 2014 Superbike World Championship.

The first Mpumalanga SuperGP race meeting on Saturday and Sunday will bring the cream of South Africa’s two-wheeled road racing talent to the only circuit in the country dedicated to motorcycles.

Headlining the two-day race meeting – Saturday is dedicated to practice and qualifying with racing on Sunday – will be the Monster Energy SuperGP, a unique South African category for 1 000 cc base-level evo rules machines.

The highlight of Saturday’s pre-race action will undoubtedly be the Top 10 Superpole for the SuperGP riders.

Free practice will start on Saturday at 8.30am with qualifying at 1.10pm after a lunch break and pit walk between 12.30pm and 1pm. The Top 10 Superpole will be at 3.20pm.

Sunday’s action will start at 8.30am with separate warm-up sessions for all three categories.

Racing will start at 10am with the first of two SuperM races and will be followed by the first of two Super600 races.

The first SuperGP race will start at noon, and the second at 3pm.

Reigning South African Superbike champion Clint Seller (PS Race! Kawasaki ZX10RR) claimed the first-ever Superpole and went on to claim back-to-back SuperGP victories in round one of the series in the Free State last month.

The Super600 category delivered two equally exciting 12-lap races in which Steven Odendaal (PS Race! Kawasaki ZX6RR) took both victories.

His closest challenger at Red Star should be reigning 600cc champion Cameron Petersen, on his Brother ITR Yamaha.

Both Kyle Robinson (Kawasaki ZX10) and Janine Davies (BMW S1000RR), podium finishers in the opening round, are expected to feature prominently in the SuperM category.

Davies made history at the Free State SuperGP by becoming the first lady rider to compete in a national challenge on a 1 000 cc Superbike.