Marquez Leading For The Win

Marc Marquez is the current leader in the MotoGP 2016 championship, leading 53 points ahead of Valentino Rossi. The reigning champion of 2015, Jorge Lorenzo, is behind by 59 points to Marquez.

The 23-year-old Spaniard has won the championship two times before in 2013 and 2014. Marquez is considered to be the youngest rider in recent history to have broken numerous records including fastest laps and back-to-back consecutive wins in one championship. However, like all sporting heroes, Marquez had to start at the beginning.

Marquez joining Repsol Honda KTM

Marquez was born in Cervera, Catalonia in Spain, and made his debut in 13 April 2008 at the 125cc 2008 Portuguese Grand Prix. He was just 15-years-old as the time and achieved his first podium on 22 June 2008 at the British Grand Prix. 

At the French Grand Prix in 2009, Marquez achieved his first pole position at a factory KTM rider and was the youngest Spanish rider to take a pole position or a podium in a motorcycle racing world championship.

His first win was on 6 June 2010 at Mugello, and following victories were at Silverstone, Assen and Catalonia and thus made Marquez the youngest rider to win four successive races. His fifth win in succession was at the Sachsenring making him the first rider since Valentino Rossi in 1997 to win successive races in 125cc racing.

In 2011 Marquez moved into the Moto2 class as the sole rider of the new team Monlau Competicion run by his manager, Emilio Alzamora.  

Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez - Repsol Honda teammates

In 2012 it was announced that Marquez had signed a two-year contract with the Repsol Honda team in the MotoGP class, replacing the retired Casey Stone alongside Dani Pedrosa as his teammate from 2013 onwards. 

Marquez has often been quoted saying that Rossi was his childhood sporting hero and inspired him to get into the sport. However, in 2015, the two friends soon became rivals. 

During a pre-event press conference at Sepang, Rossi said, “From Phillip Island, it’s clear that Jorge has a new fan.” The Italian rider accused Marquez of helping Lorenzo to beat his teammate. With Marquez sitting only a few centimeters away, Rossi continued speaking against his former friend. He elaborated saying, “Marc has played with us, doing everything in Lorenzo’s advantage… The Australian GP was really interesting, with many top riders fighting and 50 passes. But if the race was so hard fought, we need to ask Marc Marquez. He was playing with us a lot. His goal was helping Lorenzo to escape and take as many points as possible from me!”*

Marquez, visibly embarrassed replied “I did my race. I don’t know why Rossi is saying this. I did an incredible last lap. I can help my teammate, not Jorge Lorenzo.”*

Then onwards, during the Sepang, Malaysia race, a collision incident became the focus of attention when Rossi seemly kicked Marquez’s bike causing him to crash out of the race. Further investigations, however, confirmed that Marquez’s bike handle unfortunately clipped Rossi’s foot causing it to come off the peg. Nonetheless, Rossi received 3 penalty points which were enough to enforce a start from the back of the grid for the final race of the season in Valencia. The riders were warned of their behaviour but Lorenzo took the world title.

The break leading up to the 2016 championships was surely needed as racers came back calm and collected and their underlying stories seemed to fade away.

Meanwhile in South Africa, the reopening of the iconic Kyalami Racing Circuit represented the much needed impetus to economic growth in the area, particularly for tourism. The Sport and Recreation Minister of South Africa, Fikile Mbalula, said he felt positive about the Kyalami revival. “The restoration of Kyalami Racetrack is good for motorsport development and for motorsport in South Africa,” he told IgnitionLive. “We thank the private sector for their continued support for motorsport.” Perhaps the revival of Kyalami Racetrack is the necessary link to get MotoGP and other classes to consider the track as one of the circuits to visit during future championships. Mat Durrans, a co-host of The Bike Show addressed Toby Venter, the owner of the Kyalami track, saying, “Brilliant track, well done! You’ve probably not got any cash left, shame about that. But bring us some international racing!” The South African Bike Festival, hosted previously this year in May, featured various dealerships including Yamaha who displayed a replica of Valentina Rossi’s YZR-M1 Monster model. This event is said to draw in more tourists and recognition globally, possibly attracting the racers to South Africa.

Rossi and Marquez shake hands

Even though some friends become rivals, they say that a feud can’t last for long. This statement rang true at the end of an emotional Catalunya race in June dedicated to Luis Salom after his tragic death during a practice session.

It seems this helped bring a sense of perspective to the riders when Rossi and Marquez were seen shaking hands for the first time since 2015.

More than halfway through the championship already, fans of MotoGP eagerly anticipate what might happen next.

The next MotoGP race will be held at the Silverstone Circuit in Great Britain this Sunday, 4th of September.

New Kyalami Track – Too Expensive For Locals

By Kirsten Olivia Smith
The Kyalami Racing Circuit track rental prices appear to be too high for private events and individual bookings. 

The newly reconstructed track, worth R205 million plus extensive renovations costing over R250 million*, was reopened to the public this past weekend as Kyalami hosted the first ever South African Bike Festival (see feature below).

For the first time in years, punters and motorcycling enthusiasts were able to go out on to the track and test out the bikes on show. More than 2,500 visitor test rides took place over the course of the three days. However, even those with VIP entrance to the festival had to book a test ride and pay between R500 – R1,000 or more for only two laps around the track, depending on the bike’s exhibitor or sponsor. 

Donovan Fourié, a co-host of the TV show The Bike Show says, "The problem with the new circuit is the rental price, which is too much for most racing events, thus most events will be non-racing, and therefore has very little impact on younger audiences." According to Fourié, the track has been booked out until the end of the year, but nobody knows exactly what for yet.

Shane Coetzer, a derby kit car racer from Port Elizabeth says, “Well rumour has it that it’s going to be available for the clubs and regional events to race on. But your average racer isn’t going to manage to afford it. I heard in the region of R5,000 an entrant. Whether it’s true or not I cannot state. I can only imagine that big corporations will be able to afford it. I was lucky enough to race the track for the last time in its old state last year and it’s still one of the best tracks to race. I learnt a lot from Kyalami and have brought it back home with me to improve at my home track Scribanté.”

The track rental costs vary according to event and motoring type, however, the Zwartskops Red Star Raceway offers entry into open track days for between R460 - R650. This is obvious competition for Kyalami but the extent of such is not yet known.

The next event to be held at the Kyalami Racing Circuit is yet to be announced via the website at http://www.kyalamigrandprixcircuit.com/ once it is up and running.

FEATURE: South African Bike Festival attracts thousands

The first ever South African Bike Festival, hosted by the newly reconstructed Kyalami Racing Circuit, saw over 24, 000 visitors attend over the three days. This is more than double the number of people who attended the opening of the Mall of Africa at the end of April 2016.

“The South African Bike Festival is more than just a bike show,” says portfolio director Nicole Muller at Clarion Events. The three-day festival focuses on promoting “safe and responsible motorcycling” while appealing to the ‘bike curious’ public as well as the mainstream bikers.

“Our long term aim in creating this event will be to drive awareness to a potential new target audience each year and create a sustainable, annual and internationally recognised brand that will bring together the experienced and the young motivators to encourage and grow a new generation of motorcyclists in South Africa and beyond”.

The potential increase in tourism in the Midrand area would be due to Kyalami hosting both international and national events. Donovan Fourié, a co-host of the TV show The Bike Show says, “Kyalami’s new-found calibre as a world class circuit should attract more tourists.”

Muller says, “We’ve sold so many advanced tickets. Coming into a market where I know exhibitions don’t sell advance tickets here in South Africa, I am amazed at how many tickets we have sold in advance. My husband just got back off a flight from Cape Town and he said it was just full of bikers with leather jackets. So it’s not only Johannesburg. We really want people nationally to see this show and to be part of it. This is South Africa’s national motorsport venue so we need to bring people here from all around the country.”
 

Although there have been no statements regarding whether or not there will be international races at the track, Fourié states that the track has been booked out until the rest of the year. “If it hosts international racing events in the future, it could be good.”

In a recent press conference, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said, “We’re in the middle of trying to do something in South Africa. We used to have a race there and it would be nice to get back there again, to that part of the world.” A return to South Africa was discussed in 2011, regarding a possible street circuit in Cape Town, but the city council rejected the idea in 2015, saying it would be too noisy.

Monash University South Africa student, Mishka Hassam says, “I would love to go and watch a Formula One race at Kyalami. But that’s heavily dependent on ticket prices. If I can’t afford it obviously I can’t go, but that’s why they should provide student ticket prices or packages.”

Jared McMillan, a student who attended the South African Bike Festival says, “It was nice to see Kyalami open again. It was nice to see what they’ve done with the place compared to what it was before.

The Kyalami pit centre looks spectacular and the track looked really good, I was just itching to get out there.”



It was announced that the festival would be an annual event and that what makes the festival unique and stand out from other bike shows is that punters can go out onto the track and test out the bikes on show for themselves.

Julien ‘RazorBack’ Welsch

Jennifer Phriday, a sales and marketing consultant at Clarion Events says, “This event appeals to a younger audience especially because those who only have a learner’s license are allowed to go out and test the bikes on the track. This is after some supervision of course but at least it allows the youngsters to take part in the activities, including pocket bike riders."

Lachlan Harris, the National Director of AMID (Association of Motorcycle Importers and Distributors) says, "The first tip when buying a motorcycle is to buy a bike that you feel comfortable on, and is not too big and intimidating. There are some very good mid-size bikes available that are ideal for learning on before you progress to something bigger if you choose to. The South African Bike Festival is the perfect opportunity for riders to try, test, ride and buy their next motorcycle and we look forward to the festival and the circuit test ride feature growing in leaps and bounds in the years to come."

Phriday says that another appealing aspect of the event is the live international music on offer as well as the celebrities such as stuntmen Julien ‘RazorBack’ Welsch who was in South Africa for the first time all the way from France and le Riche Brothers as well as the hosts of The Bike Show being present.

For information on how KTM Motorcycles South Africa have appealed to younger audiences, watch the video below:

The 2017 South African Bike Festival dates will be announced before the end of this year.