07/03/09 - Port Elizabeth, Saturday – Talented young rider Clinton Seller produced two
sublime SA Superbike Championship performances to upstage reigning champion
Sheridan Morais at the opening round of the WesBank Super Series at the Aldo
Scribante circuit here today.

Morais (Emtek Racing Kawasaki), on the way to clinching a second national
title, completely dominated last year’s championship. It was Seller, on a
Team Yamaha entry, who was the one rider to last year provide Morais (Emtek
Racing Kawasaki), with a run for his money.

Seller went one further today and completely overshadowed Morais who this
season is riding in both the SA Superbike, for 1000cc machines, and the
600cc SA Supersport class. Morais both times climbed off the Supersport
machine to go straight into a Superbike race.

Riding both classes is a decision Morais might rue as the season progresses.
Be that as it may he was no match for Seller today with a former champion,
veteran Zimbabwe rider Shawn Whyte (Team Yamaha), also showing good early
season form with two third places.

There were also good early season performances from Robert Portman (Emtek
Kawasaki), Greg Gildenhuis (Race Nation Honda) and young Dane Hellyer
(Kyocera Kawasaki). It was, however, Seller’s day and it looks as though an
interesting season lies ahead.

There was consolation for Morais with a pair of Supersport wins – but he had
to work hard for them. In both races he was pushed all the way by young
Dylan White (JW Aluminium Yamaha) who grabbed two second places with Eddie
Alberts (Race Nation Honda) scoring two third places.

With Morais having to fight off a bunch of emerging young riders, the
Supersport series is also shaping up to produce interesting racing. Morais
is attempting an unprecedented feat – winning two SA motorcycle
championships in one year – and is going to have his work cut out.

Not far behind Seller when individual honours were being dished out was Marc
Auby (ELT Jaguar) who won both heats of the WesBank V8 Supercar event. Auby
also upstaged a reigning champion, Hennie Groenewald, who did not have a
happy start in his quest to win four WesBank championships on the trot.

Auby sneaked pole position ahead of Groenewald and controlled the opening
race from start to finish. Auby led home Groenewald, in the Timken Jaguar,
and younger brother Brandon in another ELT Jaguar with Wade van Zummeren
(Border Towing Mustang) and Richard Pinard (Timken Jaguar) completing the
top five.

Race two, started from a partially inverted grid, saw Auby having to work
his way through the field. He was well rewarded for a smooth drive while
Groenewald’s race hit problems on lap two when he picked up a puncture and
lost two laps in the pits.

Darron Gudmanz (Crazy Js Chev Corvette) started from pole position and was
gradually hunted down by Marc and Brandon Auby. Gudmanz held on for a hard
fought third with Deon Auby, father of Marc and Brandon, coming home fourth
ahead of Jaco Correia in a Liqui Moly Chev Corvette.

Two hugely competitive Bridgestone Production Car races saw former champion
Anthony Taylor (Afrox BMW 330i) and Michael Stephen (Terry Moss/Xtreme Team
Audi A4) share the race wins. Taylor took the first race ahead of reigning
champion Johan Fourie (Indy Oil Audi A4) and Stephen who got the better of a
brief scrap with Leeroy Poulter (SAM Racing/GP Windscreen Nissan 350Z).

Stephen also profited when Melville Priest (Audi A4) went farming. At the
flag Taylor led Fourie and Stephen with Poulter and Danie Olivier (Sasol
Subaru WRX) a distant fourth and fifth.

Race two produced some hectic racing among the frontrunners, but once
Stephen had earned himself a little breathing space he was never under any
real pressure. Fourie went past Taylor on lap five with the latter then
having to hold off Priest and the aggressive Shaun Watson-Smith, in the
second Xtreme Team Audi, who was a race one casualty.

Reigning overall and Class T champion Graeme Nathan, in the Indy Oil/Kaye
Eddie VW Golf GTi, shared wins with multiple SA champion Gary Formato in the
Ford Racing/Nandos Ford Focus. Nathan took race one and Formato race two
with local veteran Curt Alchin (Bodyman Golf GTi) helping himself to a pair
of third places.

Newcomer Andries van Eeden, in a Toyota RunX had a good start to his season.
He scored a double after two workmanlike drives in a class that looks a
little thin on the ground.

There was also a double for former Formula Ford champion Jayde Kruger (Fast
Freight/Motul FVW) in the Formula Volkswagen event. The championship this
year carries national status and Kruger never put a foot wrong in both
races.

In heat one Kruger was under pressure from Wesley Orr (SAM Racing/Global
FVW) who finally outbraked himself at the Toyota hairpin. That left Kruger
in charge and he came in ahead of local schoolboy Simon Moss (Terry
Moss/Southern Sun FVW) and Gordon Connelly in the Bravo/Cowan Signs FVW).

Kruger was again under pressure from Orr in race two. Orr this time saw out
the distance but was never close enough to Kruger to mount a meaningful
overtaking manoeuvre.

Connelly was again third with Moss fourth and Tasmin Pepper fifth in the PG
Glass/VW Racing FVW).

Kieran Quarmby (Gallardo VW Polo) and Divan Robertson (Champion VW Polo)
shared the VW Engen Cup wins. It was not a happy day, however, for reigning
champion Jared Mortimer (Liquid Lounge VW Polo) who started his season with
an eighth place and a did not finish.

Quarmby won race one ahead of Robertson and new kid on the block Kosie
Weyers in the Xtreme Team VW Polo. Robertson ran away with race two with
Weyers second and Mathew Hodges third in the PG Glass VW Polo.

Results:
SA Supersport: Race 1 – 1 S Morais (Kawasaki); 2 D Whyte (Yamaha); 3 E
Alberts (Honda); 4 J Peskens (Honda); 5 S Odendaal (Suzuki). Race 2 – 1 S
Morais (Kawasaki); 2 D White (Yamaha); 3 E Alberts (Honda); 4 S Odendaal
(Suzuki); 5 J Egan (Honda).

SA Superbikes: Race 1 – 1 C Seller (Yamaha); 2 S Morais (Kawasaki); 3 S
Whyte (Yamaha); 4 R Portman (Kawasaki); 5 G Gildenhuis (Honda). Race 2 – 1 C
Seller (Yamaha); 2 S Morais (Kawasaki); 3 S Whyte (Yamaha); 4 D Hellyer
(Kawasaki); 5 G Gildenhuis (Honda).

Engen VW Cup: Race 1 – 1 K Quarmby (VW Polo); 2 D Robertson (VW Polo); 3 K
Weyers (VW Polo); 4 M Hodges (VW Polo); 5 B Morgan (VW Polo). Race 2 – 1 D
Robertson (VW Polo); 2 K Weyers (VW Polo); 3 M Hodges (VW Polo); 4 K Barnes
(VW Polo); 5 M Pasqualli (VW Polo).

Formula VW: Race 1 – 1 J Kruger (Formula VW); 2 S Moss (Formula VW); 3 G
Connelly (Formula VW); 4 T Pepper (Formula VW); 5 D Hirschowitz (Formula
VW). Race 2 – 1 J Kruger (Formula VW); 2 W Orr (Formula VW); 3 G Connelly
(Formula VW); 4 S Moss (Formula VW); 5 T Pepper (Formula VW).

Bridgestone Production Cars: Race 1 – 1 A Taylor (BMW 330i); 2 J Fourie
(Audi A4); 3 M Stephen (Audi A4); 4 L Poulter (Nissan 350Z); 5 D Olivier
(Subaru WRX). Class A – A Taylor (BMW 330i); Class T – G Nathan (VW Golf
GTi); Class B – A van Eeden (Toyota RunX). Race 2 – 1 M Stephen (Audi A4); 2
J Fourie (Audi A4); 3 A Taylor (BMW 330i); 4 M Priest (Audi A4); 5 S
Watson-Smith (Audi A4). Class A – M Stephen (Audi A4); Class T – G Formato
(Ford Focus); Class B – A van Eeden (Toyota RunX).

WesBank V8 Supercars: Race 1 – 1 M Auby (Jaguar); 2 H Groenewald (Jaguar); 3
B Auby (Jaguar); 4 W van Zummeren (Ford Mustang); 5 R Pinard (Jaguar). Race
2 – 1 M Auby (Jaguar); 2 B Auby (Jaguar); 3 D Gudmanz (Chev Corvette); 4 D
Auby (Holden); 5 J Correia (Chev Corvette).