After two false starts on Saturday, the final race in the South African Superbike Championship was a nail-biter with young Sheridan Morias laying down a stern challenge to the champion, Russell Wood.
After two false starts on Saturday, the final race in the South African Superbike Championship was a nail-biter with young Sheridan Morias laying down a stern challenge to the champion, Russell Wood.
The day was not easy as the first two attempts to race had to be called off. The first race was postponed when the riders reported two oil-soaked corners after the exploration lap.
They tried again an hour later, only to be washed out by a storm as the riders lined up on the grid. Organisers then decided to call the opening race off as the all the competitors were sporting dry-weather tyres.
Finally, the race took off at dusk on a still-damp track. First Technology Yamaha riders Shaun Whyte and Arushen Moodley blasted into the lead, closely followed by Trevor Crookes (Cell C Suzuki), Sheridan Morias (Teazers Kawasaki), Gavin Ramsay (Kreepy Krauly Yamaha) and Russell Wood on his Autopage Cellular Yamaha.
After testing the slippery surface, Wood’s cautious approach evaporated on the second lap, and he powered through the field to grab the lead on the fourth tour.
A lap later, the race was red-flagged after Inala team rider Garth Norris cartwheeled his Kawasaki into the tyre wall just after the Esses, but after it was confirmed that he was not in any danger, the inspired Sheridan Morias snatched the lead on his Kawasaki, with the Yamahas of Wood and Moodley on his heels.
As expected, Wood passed Morias two laps later, but was surprisingly passed by the youngster almost immediately.
The final four laps of the race were certainly very entertaining as Wood outbraked Morias on three separate occasions – and was on the receiving end on three occasions as well.
After the race, Wood said: “My tyres were losing grip, and I had no intention of crashing in the very last race of the year.”
“The kid was obviously more than willing to take huge risks and I let him go – today; he deserved to beat me over the line,” the Champion said about the 16-year old Kawasaki rider.
An ecstatic Morias finished first, but Wood, the already-crowned 2003 champion, officially won on the aggregate times of the red-flagged opening stint and the second outing.
That left Morias in second place, followed by Arushen Moodley and Shaun Whyte, whose fourth place made him this year’s Championship runner-up.
Meanwhile, Morias’ performance bagged him both the season’s Superbike Privateers’ title and the Sasol’s Top Gun of the day award.
Greg Dreyer (Autopage Cellular Yamaha), Gavin Ramsay (Kreepy Krauly Yamaha) and Trevor Crookes (Cell C Suzuki) filled the day’s respective fifth, sixth and seventh places.
Saturday’s race was the final South African title race for 600cc machines as next season’s regulations will cater for near standard Superbikes of unlimited capacity.