Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters: Kyle Robinson #18

—Recorded the best time of the day: 01:41.721.
—Phakisa Freeway.

Michael Smit #49

—Kawasaki ZX10R, Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters Cup.

Pieter De Vos #17

—1 + 1 = 4 in a row.

Graeme + Pieter

—Synchronized Red Square Supebike racing.

STARTING GRID LINE UP:

Pieter De Vos, Graeme van Breda, Kyle Robinson, Johan Le Roux, Tony Klem, Stuart Russel, Andre Denoon, Raymond Keel, Jaco Gous, Appanna Ganapathy, Hennie du Plessis, Sid Farinha, Hannes De Vos, Stewie Christie, Michael Smit, Abrie Marais, Hano Van Der Merwe, Henk Schuiling, Mike McSkimming, JB Schoeman, Chris Marais, Ian Harwood, Craig Luck, Allen Maguire, Peter Clark.

Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters: rhythm (of love)

It is late Thursday afternoon, half-six, to be exact. My advice: never leave for Phakisa this time of day, you will be annoyed out of you skull: traffic, traffic, and some more traffic; and, to worsen my dismal state, the sun is hanging low in the congested afternoon sky, nearly blinding me. With the sun-visor down I can barely see the road ... sigh.
Every now and then I take a sip from a frosted Red Square Reload bottle, placing the red bottle back between my legs. (For a moment it took me back to my "ignorant" younger days when drinking a quart beer while driving was still cool. The quart was tall enough, if an emergency situation would’ve arisen, while the Reload bottle would have flown right underneath the steering wheel.) [1] Three Red Squares left in the cooler, I’m a bit worried, and holding thumbs that it would drag me through to my destination: Welkom. With all the tilting and placing it back, the condensation of the Reload bottle had eventually left a wet spot on the front of my (pure cotton) brown Chino pants; too embarrassed, I deliberately drove past the first Engen 1 Stop ...

The sky over Phakisa Freeway is bluer than normal. Someone is drawing white lines on it. Every now and then these lines appear, and in an instant it disappears again, sometimes staying a bit longer; while on the Phakisa Freeway racetrack however, the black score marks are permanent. Planes almost 40, 000 feet up create these vapour trails, my vivid imagination fails to accept that. These so called flying machines mysteriously blend into the blue backdrop, making me believe that somebody is drawing these white lines, sanctifying this motorsport day, apparently not enough: Peter Clark, Allen Maguire, and someone else (read on), met with Mother Earth, sternly.

In ’87, Yes released an album called Big Generator. One of tracks was "Rhythm of Love", a very successful track. A while back I found this on YouTube, and it reminded me so much of the Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters: passion, dedication, love for the sport and rhythm. Without these essentials, THIS will eventually come to nowt.
Take motorsport as a whole: extreme supercars, superbikes ... The Masters are part of this symbiotic thunder-cloud, the Extreme—motorsport—Festival. Deconstruct them and discount the other classes; zoom in further and turn down the volume completely, silence their energetic voices, and experience the rhythm of love for this specific motorsport genre. Everything in life has a certain kind of rhythm: life, love, the ocean, trees, blue skies, and this feature … everything has RHYTHM.
At the heart of this, the core, I found the best drum session to accentuate my point. Round this off with an ice cold Red Square, and this is what you will experience—FULL VOLUME PLEASE!

Last night during the very successful BBB Festivity (Braai, Band and Booze), Rodney McLachlan (#42) came up to me, and asked me the strangest favour: will I be able to come in early on Saturday morning to take a picture of him and his newly branded Count Air Kawasaki ZX10R. To be honest, Rodney has done a hell of a job with his superbike. I don’t want to say it out loud, but his Kawasaki was the most attractive on the floor. Well, his and Johan Le Roux’s Tandoori Masala Kawasaki ZX10R. BUT! That was not all. The reason for his strange request was: that if he crashes his superbike (on race day), that he will still have something to remember it by. Sid Farinha #57, who stood witness to this strange request, nearly dropped his jaw on the garage floor, and laughed out loud. Well my dear Readers, do I need to say anything more? With a swollen—later confirmed broken—ankle, tightly wrapped in an ice pack, we looked at the damage, before he decided to call it quits for the day.

(Life happens, bringing with it abundance and sometimes melancholy. Accidents are part of motorcycle racing, so too the great and euphoric moments. To Peter, Allen and Rodney, get well soon, you are invaluable Red Army Members.)

The rhythm however, did not stop with the crashes: One + one equals 4 in a row for Pieter "the Terrier" De Vos. First Red Star (Round 2), now Phakisa Freeway. Trailing close in his 95 octane exhaust fumes were Graeme Van Breda and Kyle Robinson. The order stayed the same for both heats. Between turns 7 & 9, I was as close to the action as possible (239 kph), almost surreal to see these superbikes blasting through those turns at breakneck speed (Uncini 2, 177 kph). Just the thought of it makes the hair on my forearms stand up straight. Hard on the brakes through the second last turn (10), knee-sliders down on the tarmac (it makes the most awful sound), quick swing to the left, back on the throttle, and down the short Phakisa pit straight—at 219 kph.

—A little African boy in front of me, does not know whether to plug his ears or clap his hands with excitement. Then it is all quiet as the Masters race into turn one, disappearing from the radar for a minute and 41 seconds (01:41.758, to be precise), before they fly by again. This was the most beautiful moment of the day: a little boy so enthralled by the action, that when it got time to go home, he nearly broke into tears.

Kyle Robinson #18, recorded the best time of the day: 01:41.721.

You have to be there, to truly experience such Red Square moments. Thirteen July, Aldo Scribante, Port Elizabeth, is next on the motorsport calendar.
And it made me think: If a man lies in second place, he knows exactly whom to chase (and for how long), like Greyhounds chasing a lure. But, what if you’re always in first? Do you now become the lure? And, what do you chase if you are the rabbit? Graeme Van Breda, currently lies second with 130 points on the combined roster.
Third, Kyle Robinson, on 84; Tony Klem, 74; Johan Le Roux, 68; André Denoon, 60; Raymond Keel, 55; and Stuart Russel, 45 ...

Other highlights: Mark Weitz had the time of his life dishing out Red Square Reload to a market that was not quite familiar with it (from where I sat). Thanks to Heinrich Rheeder of Rheeder Racing for his gazebo. Friday night at the Welkom Inn (where I stayed), I rallied a few people in the dining area, showing them pictures on my Smartphone of what lies ahead for Saturday. They were most amazed, especially when they saw the Superbikes and the red Ferrari F430 of Nicky Dicks, with specific orders to go bug Mark for a Reload, AND, that admission is FREE ...

On a small scale we’ve all made a difference to many peoples’ lives, especially that little boy’s. I don’t think much ever happens in Welkom, especially on such a massive scale; the refreshment was most Welcome(d). Everybody on the grandstand (next to the pit area), enjoyed the Extreme—motorsport—Festival—IMMENSELY!

My Nikon gear is packed, and for one last time I look up at a very late afternoon sky and see the remnant of drawn white lines that grew into little fat elongated clouds. My Red Square bottle makes a clunk sound, as it hits the rubbish bin.

The rhythm is not gone, never. The sun sinks slowly in the west, creating a new kind of rhythm, the long road back to Pretoria, the same. Without it, there can't be any more tomorrows. And with the right state of mind, we can pick up on all the lovely beats out there. See you all at the next big one. —Godspeed! •

Graeme Van Breda + Tony K13m

—Berik vs Berik.

Rodney McLachlan + Sid Farinha

—Red Army Brothers.

Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters

—JB "the Real Tony Soprano" Schoeman + Johan Le Roux.
—Carling Black Label vs Windhoek Draught. Where’s the Red Square boys?

Pieter De Vos + Kyle Robinson

—Kawasaki, Jeep.

Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters + Newbie

—LTR: JB Schoeman, Stevedore Johan Fourie, Pieter De Vos + Allen Maguire.
—Welcome to the Red Army, Allen.

Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters, Extreme Festival, Phakisa Freeway Welkom Free State, South African Motorsport, 2015/05/02. [1] ARRIVE ALIVE, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.