Johannesburg, Saturday 15/03/08– Former South African champion Sheridan Morias, with a season of overseas competition behind him, stole the individual honours at the opening round of the WesBank Super Series at Kyalami today.

The pint-sized Morias, the national champion in 2005, romped away to win both heats of the CitiBike SA Superbike Championship. Mounted on the Emtek Racing Kawasaki it was an impressive performance by Morias who spent two seasons racing in the world Superstock championship.

Morias and Clint Seller, on the Lenovo Nashua Mobile/Daikin Yamaha completely dominated both races. They simply rode away from the rest of the opposition with Morias always having the upperhand where Seller was concerned.

It was a classy display from Morias and Seller and gave a hint of things to come. Behind them reigning champion Arushen Moodley, on the Dynamic Emtek Suzuki, took third place after a battle with Greg Gildenhuys (Race Nation Honda) and 2006 champion Shaun Whyte on another Lenovo Nashua Mobile/Daikin Yamaha.

In the second heat Moodley and Whyte tripped over each other two corners from home while fighting over third and fourth. Morias and Seller were long gone and Robert Portman (Sinotek Suzuki) suddenly found himself elevated from fifth to the final podium placing with Whyte taking fourth from Moodley.

The wins in the CitiBike Supersport championship for 600cc motorcycle were shared by Dane Hellyer (Kyocera Kawasaki) and James Egan on the Time Freight Yamaha. The meeting got off to a damp start and the opening race was run in tricky conditions with Egan among a bunch of riders who went down on lap one.

The race was run for five laps behind the safety car with Hellyer disappearing into the distance when racing got underway again. Hellyer eventually cruised home nine seconds ahead of Dylan White (White Aluminium Yamaha) and Steven Odendaal, who grabbed a podium place in his first ever national outing, on the Mitsubishi Electric Suzuki.

Race two was a different story with Hellyer unable to keep Egan and veteran Graeme van Breda, on the Springs Suzuki, at bay. Hellyer gradually lost ground and Egan finally got the better of van Breda.

There was an explosive start to the Bridgestone Production Car Championship. Etienne van der Linde and Anthony Taylor dominated Class A in the Afrox BMW 330i entries which last year ran under Castrol BMW factory colours.

The factory team endured a miserable time of it last season, but van der Linde and Taylor simply romped away with the opening race. They stormed away from Johan Fourie (JF Racing Audi A4), former champion Leeroy Poulter (Sasol Nissan 350Z) and Michael Stephen in the Xtreme Team Audi A4.

An inverted grid for race two saw Tschops Sipuka, in another Sasol Nissan 350Z hold off reigning champion Shaun Watson-Smith (Xtreme Team Audi A4) for six laps. Over the last two laps Sipuka was under huge pressure from Taylor, who looks to have a new lease on life as a co-owner of the Afrox team, but managed to hold on for second.

The Class T honours went to Graeme Nathan in the Seat SA/Kaye Eddie Cupra ahead of reigning champion Iain Pepper (PG Autoglass VW Golf GTi) and Gary Formato in the SMD Group Ford Focus. It was an encouraging debut from the Ford and indications are Nathan, Pepper and Formato are going to be at each others throats throughout the season.

Veteran Ben Morgenrood took both Class B wins in the Mazda Motorsport RX8 ahead of Danie van Niekerk in the Stanger Auto Ford Fiesta. There was also a double in Class C where Theuns Eloff, in the Infinity Motorsport Fiat Grande Punto, was too good for the opposition.

The WesBank V8 Supercar series, celebrating its 25th anniversary, saw reigning champion Hennie Groenewald (Timken Chev Lumina) and team-mate Robert Briggs (Timken Jaguar) share first and seconds. Groenewald, the early season favourite for a hat-trick of titles, was a little fortunate.

After running away with race one ahead of Briggs and Marc Auby in the Jonnesway Chev Lumina, Groenewald found himself finishing third in heat two. A mechanical problem saw the champion gradually fall off the pace to come in behind Briggs and Richard Pinard in a third Timken car.

Pinard was then excluded from the results for running an underweight car and Groenewald picked up a place. Pinard’s exclusion also meant a podium place for 16-year-old Brandon Auby, in the Masana Petroleum Jaguar, in his WesBank debut.

The safety car was also called into action early in the first heat of the Engen VW Cup which is now restricted to drivers under 27. When racing resumed Miguel Pasqualli (Xtreme Team VW Polo) dropped out of the running and Mathew Hodges (PG Autoglass VW Polo), Gennaro Bonafede (Champion/Ferodo VW Polo) and Bryan Morgan (VW Polo) opened up a huge gap to finish in that order.

Race two was completely dominated by Pasqualli who romped away from Bonafede and Mish-al Singh in the Tuntech VW Polo. Hodges and Kieran Quarmby (Gallardo VW Polo) completed the top five.

The first eve Formula Volkswagen race, with the singleaseater series having national challenge status, got off to a damp start. Rain came pouring down as the cars lined up on the grid, six laps were run under the pace car, and the win credited to Gavin Cronje (Jonah Capital Formula VW) ahead of Michael Stephen (Terry Moss Racing Formula VW) and David Perel in the SAM Racing entry.
Race two saw Cristiano Morgado (Morgando Racing Formula VW) take the early lead ahead of Cronje. When Morgado went out with a mechanical problem Cronje romped away from Brett Mayberry and Lee Thompson in the Terry Moss Racing entries with the series showing plenty of early potential.

Results:
Formula VW: Race 1: 1 G Cronje (Formula VW); 2 M Stephen (Formula VW); 3 D Perel (Formula VW); 4 J Murray (Formula VW); 5 L Thompson (Formula VW). Race 2:

Engen VW Cup: Race 1: 1 M Hodges (VW Polo); 2 G Bonafede (VW Polo); 3 B Morgan (VW Polo); 4 D Nathan (VW Polo); 5 J Mortimer (VW Polo). Race 2: 1 M Pasqualli (VW Polo); 2 G Bonafede (VW Polo); 3 M Singh (VW Polo); 4 M Hodges (VW Polo); 5 K Quarmby (VW Polo).

Bridgestone Production Cars (Classes T & C): 1 G Nathan (Seat Cupra); 2 I Pepper (VW Golf GTi); 3 G Formato (Ford Focus); 4 G van Heerden (VW Golf GTi); 5 C Alchin (VW Golf GTi). Class C – T Eloff (Fiat Grande Punto).

Bridgestone Production Cars (Classes A & B): 1 E van der Linde (BMW 330i); 2 A Taylor (BMW 330i); 3 J Fourie (Audi A4); 4 L Poulter (Nissan 350Z); 5 M Stephen (Audi A4). Class B – B Morgenrood (Mazda RX8).

Bridgestone Production Cars (All Classes): 1 S Watson-Smith (Audi A4); 2 T Sipuka (Nissan 350Z); 3 A Taylor (BMW 330i); 4 L Poulter (Nissan 350Z); 5 E van der Linde (BMW 330i). Class A – S Watson-Smith (Audi A4); Class T – G Nathan (Seat Cupra); Class B – B Morgenrood (Mazda RX8); Class C – T Eloff (Fiat Grande Punto).

WesBank V8 Supercars: Race 1: 1 H Groenewald (Chev Lumina); 2 G Briggs (Jaguar); 3 M Auby (Jaguar); 4 J Gutzeit (Ford Mustang); 5 WW Hepburn (Chev Corvette). Race 2: 1 R Briggs (Jaguar); 2 R Pinard (Jaguar); 3 H Groenewald (Chev Lumina); 4 B Auby (Jaguar); 5 F di Matteo (Jaguar).

CitiBike Supersport: Race 1: 1 D Hellyer (Kawasaki); 2 D Whyte (Yamaha); 3 S Odendaal (Suzuki); 4 G van Breda (Suzuki); 5 J Oliver (Suzuki). Race 2: 1 J Egan (Yamaha); 2 G van Breda (Suzuki); 3 D Hellyer (Kawasaki); 4 N Grobler (Suzuki); 5 S Odendaal (Suzuki).

CitiBike Superbikes: Race 1: 1 S Morias (Kawasaki); 2 C Seller (Yamaha); 3 A Moodley (Suzuki); 4 G Gildenhuys (Honda); 5 S Whyte (Yamaha). Race 2: 1 S Morias (Kawasaki); 2 C Seller (Yamaha); 3 R Portman (Suzuki); 4 S Whyte (Yamaha); 5 A Moodley (Suzuki).