The visiting team from Mick Grant a former champion and Isle of Man TT winner, had some notable riders to contest the three leg series held at the Aldo Scribante, Zwartkops and Kyalami tracks.
The Port Elizabeth 200 proved to be a runaway win by a clear 10 laps for Gary Johnson backed up by Parkins 1000cc BMW. Crowd attendance on the Saturday’s racing was fairly sparce but this didn’t stop the TT?legends parade or veteran racers from the Eastern province. Rodney Hiles coupled with Schroder from gaining a podium position on the day’s events.
By far the best attended race day was Zwartkops. The packed race schedule planned for the day took some inevitable delays as racing shunts played out to packed grandstands. A host of champions and former greats sampled a track that contained plenty of oil and rubber to cause the occasional missed heart beat for the veteran racers.
Sean Emmett, multiple UK?champion took home the top spot in the Day of Champions Race riding an ex-works 1984 Suzuki 500cc Grand Prix.
Notable riders like Scottish Champion Alan Dufus and Peter Labuschagne both on ultra-fast 1960 single cylinder bikes put up a good showing against the more powerful machines on race day to gain some silverware.
What was billed as another great day of champions at Kyalami became a major tragedy with the loss of two racers on the day in the brunch runner class where Warren Banfield and Marco Pugi both succumbed to their injuries. The start line mellé crash saw riders and bikes go in all directions as six racers crashed with the result that all ambulances were rapidly dispatched to local hospitals.
The passion for speed day suffered once again from various program delays. The Castrol Tourist Trophy was won by Allan Venter on a Yamaha 1100 ahead of series winner Les van Breda on a borrowed Honda 1100 while fast riding John Kosterman was third on a 1985 Suzuki GSX-R750cc. The small but loyal band of enthusiasts however got to watch the passing show in some glorious Highveld summer weather on the day.
1. For Paddy Driver and Jim Redman it all started in the mid 50’s going from track to track in Europe eeking out a living from GP?racing.
2. SA?Champion Les van Breda scooped 2nd place for the series with some spirited rides on the huge Suzuki Katama.
3. Winning the Pre-1970 leg, Peter Labuschagne on Wagon Wheels proved to be very fast.
4. Alan Dufus from Scotland took home 1st place at Zwartkops TT Legends Pre-1970 division.
5. Jim Redman 12/6 scratching it out on the 900cc Westlake. He just turned 80 last year but still rides very quickly.
6. Mick Grant’s classic Suzuki Team enjoyed mixed results among some DNF’s in the three leg series. Seen here on the world championship square four from the early 80’s.
7. The all-star “Team Incomplete” this year suffered no mechanical mayhem which is remarkable considering they all originate as GP bikes from almost 60 years ago. Seen here are the Zwartkops contenders from left to right are Mike Hundreds, Keith Zeeman, Ian Groat team owner, John Boswell, Jimmie Guthrie, six-time world champion Jim Redman, Scottish champion Alan Dufus, Mick Grant, Tiny Marriner, Paddy Driver and Peter Labuschagne.
