Gas Sports, the promoters of the recently announced 'SuperGP' national motorcycle series, seem to have dived headlong into murky waters with the publication of their draft 2014 calendar, which includes a “to be confirmed” round on August 24 on a circuit in Durban.
At this point it looks like such a track would be laid out at a disused airport, of which Durban has two, although we hear that negotiations are still underway.
There will be eight rounds for the headline SuperGP and Super600 categories and seven rounds for the other categories.
2014 CALENDAR:
Phakisa Freeway, Free State - March 16
Redstar, Mpumalanga - April 27
Killarney, Cape Town - May 18
East London, Eastern Cape - June 15
Aldo Scribante, Eastern Cape - July 27
Durban Street Circuit, KwaZulu-Natal - August 24
Zwartkops Raceway, Gauteng - September 14
Phakisa Freeway, Free State - October 18/19
WORLD SUPERBIKE ROUND
The eighth and final round at Phakisa will also be the South African round of the World Superbike series with SuperGP and Super600 the only national supporting categories.
Of more concern is the proposal that race weekends be structured as per international practice with practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and racing on Sunday - including round three of the series at Killarney on Sunday 18 May.
Since Killarney is closed on Sundays due to noise concerns, one wonders how they are going to manage that.
SIX CLASSES
This all-motorcycle national racing circus will have races for six classes, headed by SuperGP, a unique South African 'evo' category for litre-class production machines with limited modifications.
Similar near-standard limitations will apply to the 600cc Super600 class, while the Superbike and Super600M support classes will be equivalent to current the SA Superbike and Supersport categories, which allow for considerable (and very expensive) modifications.
They're also planning a Supermasters class for riders over 35 on either SuperGP or Superbike machinery and a Supertwins category for bikes up to 1200cc, which could just deliver the most exciting racing on the programme.