A record crowd enjoyed the spectacle that was Stofskop powered by Motul at the Randfontein Oval Raceway on August 12 with participants and fans leaving with big smiles and great memories of another dusty but incredible day out.
After most events, the discussion focuses on the winners – but then Stofskop isn’t like most events. Simply by taking part, you’re a winner at Stofskop – and this event attracted just about every imaginable rider and motorcycle, from plastic pigs and sidecars to Mopeds and inappropriate road bikes.
Capes were donned, corners were cut, some heroes took a tumble – and it all added up to a perfect day in the dust …
An undoubted crowd-pleaser was the Delivery Bike Dash in the Dust, with a stellar line-up of legends. Between them, Clinton Seller, Ross Branch, Brian Capper, Hippocrates ‘Taki’ Bogiages, Louwrens Mahoney, and Darryl Curtis have won 37 national motorcycle racing titles across many disciplines – but they were about to face their toughest (and undoubtedly silliest) challenge yet.
They took to the track on the kind of bikes that you’d usually see at your front door bringing you your groceries or a takeaway. Honda Ace 125 motorcycles were sponsored by Honda SA for all the riders except Ross Branch, who took his Hero Eco 150 for a ‘slide’.
Of course, with this much talent on show, everybody wanted a ‘pizza’ the action, but (this being Stofskop), things didn’t quite go according to plan. Seller enjoyed falling off his bike so much that he did it a few times, while ‘somebody’ turned off Branch’s fuel in an attempt to sabotage his bid for glory! Capper, Mahoney, and Curtis all pushed hard, while Bogiages was the first to zigzag across the middle of the track, to cross the line first. The rest of the pack all followed suit, so working out who might have won after four chaotic heats became rather difficult – but also irrelevant, as the Delivery Bike Dash in the Dust was all about the entertainment value.
The final heat of the day saw Taki and Ross in a head-to-head that was enlivened by Skinny van Schalkwyk emerging from the delivery box on Ross’ Hero to scatter gold confetti on the track as the afternoon sun began to set … a glittering end to the perfect day.
“The events on the track were far from the only highlight at this year’s Stofskop Powered by Motul,” commented a delighted chief organiser Chris Shelvey.
“We’d like to thank the sponsors, fans, and riders for making this our best event yet,” he added.
“Stofskop was everything we had hoped it would be,” commented Mercia Jansen of Motul.
“An inclusive, fun, and slightly crazy day out for families and riders alike, and the perfect way to encourage more people to get into – or get back into – the riding lifestyle, with or without the fancy dress,” she added.
