The Suzukis of Hudson Kennaugh and Trevor Crookes showed the accident-prone SA Superbike Championship field the way to flag at Kylami on Saturday.
The season’s first two races in the SA Superbike Championship saw few teams prepared to duel, but the Suzukis of Hudson Kennaugh and Trevor Crookes showed who the rulers of the track were.
Riding last year’s Suzuki GSX R1000 models, the pair set the morning’s two quickest qualifying times, before sharing the day’s two race victories.
Crookes won the opening event ahead of Kennaugh, with Greg Dreyer and Russell Wood third and fourth on their new Yamaha R1 models.
In some excitement, the race was red-flagged and restarted after the young Tertius de Lange crashed his Yamaha R6 coming out of a corner. Luckily, de Lange escaped with only minor bruises.
Race two was action-packed too as early in the race, the Yamaha R6 of Darryn Upton high-sided through the fast right-hander after the pit straight. The race was stopped and this rider too was lucky to escape major injury.
After the race was restarted, Robert Cragg on a Suzuki GSX R1000 rear-ended Woods under braking, flooring both riders.
Two laps later, Shaun Whyte (Honda Fireblade) and Lance Isaacs (Ducati 999S) collided heavily and Whyte was airlifted to hospital with chest injuries after the race was stopped again.
All of which left Kennaugh to claim victory, followed by his teammate Crookes and Yamaha riders Greg Dreyer and Graeme van Breda.
After the second race, defending champion Russell Wood said: “Suzuki must enjoy the moment – when we meet again, things will look radically different.”
All teams will start with test and development programmes ahead of the next round of superbike action at Killarney in Cape Town on April 3.
