Stuart Russel #83

—Looking good! (Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters Cup).

Sid Farinha #57

—Kawasaki ZX10R (Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters Cup).

Tony Klem #13, Graeme Van Breda #41

—Shoulder to shoulder at 200+.

Red Square Kawasaki Masters: 1341 (Numbers)

Numbers on their own have no meaning whatsoever: Passing under a bridge the other day (on the highway), seeing black painted numbers on the base of the concrete structure. For me, it has absolutely no meaning whatsoever, unless, the true intention is revealed for what purpose these numbers serve.
Well, it inspired me to write about numbers (maybe that was the sole purpose after all).

Round 3, of the ever popular Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters/Extreme Festival, has finally reached our doorstep, not quite yet, but almost, it happens on the 2nd of May. If you are a true thunder-junkie, then you will scoot your rears over on the Friday as well, for superb practice sessions.
With the orange hue creeping slowly over the horizon, proclaiming another day, I start counting the hours before the delicate sound of Kawasaki- and Extreme Supercar thunder, will blast the dust of the sleepy Welkom town. Sunrays travel at the speed of light, well, that’s a no brainer, however, it takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach our planet; it will take me a bit longer from Pretoria to Phakisa Freeway (Welkom, Free State), 3 hours and a few minute to complete the 330 kilometre trek, and, WORTH every Nelson.

(Remember to pack warm clothes, Phakisa has an unforgiving cold heart at this time of year, not in full swing, but a few years back it caught me with my size 38 pants down (not literally, or did it, can’t remember now), I nearly froze to death. To warm things a bit: 3 January 1990, Snap!, a German Eurodance music group, published a very energetic song: the Power. It is particularly known for its hook "I've got the power!" You can listen to it here—http://goo.gl/BKnCv). —1341.

The whole world revolves around numbers: stock markets, economies, navigational systems; the Red Square Kawasaki Masters: lap times, timing sheets, racetrack distance, speed, amount of racing-fuel ... A properly tuned Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R can easily clock 250 kph in a very short distance, just ask Pieter "the Terrier" De Vos, number 17. Will he capitalize on his two previous wins at Red Star?

Since I started working for the Club in 2013, it has grown from strength to strength. Have seen a few members departed, but that’s life; on the flip side, a horde of new faces have joined the Red Square racing action: Hano Van Der Merwe #14, Ian Harwood #24, Abrie Marais #48, Michael Smit #49, Hennie Du Plessis #61, Barney Van Dyk #81. Put a face to these numbers and you know exactly who to scream for when they pass the chequered flag—please come and pay them a visit in the pits. (Maybe you could squeeze Mark (Weitz) for a Red Square Reload, the golden FUEL, the Masters run on.

Other long standing Red Army members are:
Graeme Van Breda #41, on 90 points (Combined).
Pieter De Vos #17 - 86 points.
Kyle Robinson #18 - 52.
Tony Klem #13 - 50, (FYI: Tony turned 13 on Friday the 13th of January).
Johan Le Roux #44 - 44.
Andre Denoon #58 - 41.
Raymond Keel #33 - 38.
Stuart Russel #83 - 27.
Jaco Gous #43 - 22.
Peter Clark #64 - 21.
Rodney McLachlan #42 - 20.
Sid Farinha #57 - 18.
Stewie Christie #65 - 17
Hannes De Vos #15 - 5
Appanna Ganapathy #77 - 2
JB Schoeman #23 - 1
Henk Schulling #69 - 0

It is Tuesday night, in Strand (Western Cape). After a hard day of labour I just want to take a breather and ready myself for the Red Square Kawasaki Masters race event on SuperSport 8, Two Wheels. First the DSTV in my room failed to work, luckily the Inn Keeper sorted that out in 10 minutes, and it felt like a life time. Back on the bed, Eskom decided to flip the big-switch to—OFF. This is just how life goes, especially in South Africa: you have to look over your damn shoulder every second of the day, when having fun, especially in this beautiful county. A few harsh words went up in the late afternoon Strand sky ...

I have to find a TV, fast. With 30 minutes on the clock and a head full of hostility towards the "power provider", time was ticking, and ticking very fast. First stop: Spur, then Ciao Bella Pizzeria, a few others were too dank, thankfully they were out ...
The power-grid was out from Gordon’s Bay, to Strand, to Somerset West.
Eventually we ended up at Somerset Mall (they had POWER!; a silent prayer of gratitude went up in the cold evening air) Thanks to my good friend Virginia Lincoln, the Europcar Rental will not be the same again, I still have a few chipped nails, BUT, we have made it ...

We hurriedly reached the door of Mugg & Bean (M&B Somerset West), just in time. To our disappointment the place was fully packed. I felt my mettle hit my shoes. For a moment I was just staring at everybody. Where can we sit? ‘Only one TV!', I uttered out loud. And as Karma has planned it, table number 10, right in front of the only television was vacant. We get tested all the time, that I’m sure of. AND, SuperSport 1 was running rugby ... sigh. I turned around and thought: whomever wants this channel unchanged will have to come through me; either you punch me, or sit down and hold your girl’s hand, or watch the epic racing of the Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters ...

There were about 60 people in the place. I manned up and asked Milton Sakutukwa, if we can change the channel to SS8. He smiled, 'I will gladly do that for you sir', turned around and fiddle the remote ... Sometimes it is nice to just sit back and enjoy the motorcycle racing with friends—and I was able to say: 'I was there.'

It was so nice to have explained the numbers to her: 13 is Tony K13m, 17 Pieter De Vos, 18 Kyle Robinson, 23 JB "the real Tony Soprano" Schoeman (nobody ever asks JB where he got his number from) ... We watched the interviews afterwards, the whole lot. And for a moment, I was proud to be associated with Red Square and the illustrious Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters. Most of the time people are gobsmacked when I tell them that I work for one of the best motorcycle racing outfits in the country, doing their pre- and post-race articles/features (NOT RACE-REPORTS), and their photos. Even if I must say so myself: I’m doing a damn good job of it; BUT, in the same breathe, I would also like to remark that without my solid foundation of avid Readers, things would not have waxed so much. And—a very BIG Cheers to Mart, Down Under, for all the editing.

Around us people where pecking away at their food. Oblivious to the two Master fans that enjoyed the motorcycle racing so much. Sometimes (and I say, sometimes) it is possible to fit a little bit of magic into a plastic box. None however, gets better than—3D-HD-Real-Life-Live. So don’t be a couch potato or weekend green finger, come see the races, you will add at least TEN years to your short life span.

To Milton of M&B Somerset Mall, you were number 1 my friend. To 2Wheels an applause, and to the ZX10R Masters, for creating such magical moments, we salute you.

There are 23 Red Army soldiers. 275ml in a Red Square Reload bottle (or can), all you gonna need for now, to spruce up your tired body (and mind), plenty in the Red Square coolers at the track, and tons more at you nearest liquor outlet, and one man to alleviate their thirst: Mark Weitz.

Light travels at a speed of 299, 792 kilometres per second, over a year it would have reached 9 trillion kilometres; the Sun is the closest star to Earth, about 93 million miles away; on my desk lies a hand-drawn number 76 cartoon Rocket, the caption reads: "Charging the Sun", with a curly wire that runs from the Rocket to the Sun ...
To place this in contrast and considering the bigger scheme of things: Phakisa Freeway is just around the corner, with enough rest-stops to recharge your batteries. Friday hosts a full day of practices, Saturday the big guns are all out: Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters, Thunderbikes, SB&N Brunch Run Challenge. And to make the racing even more worth the drive, the Extreme Supercars will thunderously populate the starting grid.

The numbers are all in, the grid will be full, and the action, beyond the normal known decibel—see you all at Phakisa Freeway for the NUMBER 1 spectacular. —Godspeed! •

Johan Le Roux #44

—Kawasaki ZX10R (Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters Cup).

Abrie Marais #48

—How to bend light (Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters Cup).

Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters

—Red Army "Class of 2015".

Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters, Phakisa Freeway, South African Motorsport, 2015/04/28.