With local hotshot Dave 'McFlash' McFadden away doing his fans proud in World Superstocks, the eighth round of the Mike Hopkins Regional Motorcycle series, this Saturday at Killarney, looks like it is going to be a straight fight between the experience and racecraft of the defending champion on the one hand, and the raw talent and determination of the young guns on the other.
The champion is, of course, Cape Town's fastest accountant, Malcolm Rapson, now running consistently in the low 1min13's on the Donford S1000RR, while the young guns are led by Walker Brothers team-mates Trevor Westman, on a BMW S1000RR, and Aran van Niekerk, who has been the surprise of the season, riding the wheels off his five-year-old Yamaha R1 and competing with the latest BMW and Kawasaki machinery despite a 30kW (at least!) power deficit.
600 CHALLENGE
Right behind them is the Brat Pack - three insanely quick teenagers on 600cc bikes, snapping at the heels of the litre-class machines, ready to take advantage of the slightest error and grab valuable championship points off the 'big boys'.
Making the running up to now has been Gerrit Visser on the Competition Bikes CBR600RR, but two superb runs in the SA Supersport races at Killarney's recent WesBank Super Series meeting served notice that Brandon Haupt, riding the On Demand GSX-R600, will be the man to watch among the 600 Challenge riders this weekend.
And right on their tailpipes will be 15-year-old Nicholas van der Walt - Van Niekerk's younger brother - on the Race Prep CBR600RR, who very nearly got into the 1min14's last time out with a crash-damaged bike that was running far from its best. These talented teens are likely to provide some of the best racing of the day.
At Round 7 Marco Smith (Tiffandales CBR1000RR) surprised everybody (including himself) with two emphatic Class B win, establishing himself as the form man for this weekend - but don't expect Shaun de Jager (Honda CBR1000RR), Terry Smith (Eclipse CBR1000RR) and Shakir 'Shrek' Smith (Entity CBR1000RR) to see it that way.
Class C, as always, will be fought out between Robyn de Goede (Honda CBR 600) Kurt Fortune (Blaze ZX-6R) and Vossie Vosloo on the Competition Bikes R1.
POWERSPORTS/CLASSICS
Once again Carl Liebenberg can be expected to set the pace in the Battle of the Twins aboard the Calberg F800, with his main opposition coming from Leroy Malan on a similar BMW, and a gaggle of Suzuki SV650's headed by Warren Guantario and Anthony on the Fibreprod machines.
The Suzukis have not as yet covered themselves in glory, having been prone to mechanical gremlins, but Guantario in particular has shown that he is capable of giving Liebenberg a run for the silverware when the SV650 is running properly.
Liebenberg's son Andrew and J-P Friedrich, each on a Honda RVF400, are likely to be the quickest of the 400cc machines, while the Vintage Superbike honours will be fought out between Frans Maritz and Lourens Rossouw on similar Suzuki GSX-R750s and Tony Sparg's beautifully prepared GSX1100.