Chris' Stuff: Terreblanche races to best ever MX1 GP result

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Terreblanche races to best ever MX1 GP result

TERREBLANCHE RACES TO BEST EVER MX1 GP RESULT

5 JULY 2009

South Africa is about as far away from Sweden as you could care to imagine, and the chances that there is any Viking blood in Shannon Terreblanche is very remote indeed. Yet if one might show a Swedish passport official some examples of the South African's never-say-die attitude, and clip on a picture of the fair-haired-blue-eyed young motocrosser, chances are that Shanter would be admitted to the clan without so much as a second thought. Having been an annual visitor to Uddevalla since before his GP career started, Shanter is a bit of an honorary local, and he generates a fair bit of shouting and flag waving whenever he circulates around the technically-challenging track, beautifully nestled in a valley below simply breathtakingly beautiful rocky outcrops that form arguably the most spectacular viewing pavilion in the motor racing world.

Motocross GP racing is not all about the trackside scenery, though, as every weekend brings with it a lot of work to do on the track and in the pits. During the past few races, Shannon has inexorably been creeping closer to the class leaders as far as lap times are concerned, a surefire indication that he is adapting to the rigours of MX1 racing. A fairly ordinary start in the qualifying race gave him an adequate workload, but he quickly worked his way up to 19th position. He seemed set to improve even further on his qualifying position, when he was spotted cruising around the track and into the pits. He reported that the bike was spluttering, which after consultation with the friendly lads of the factory Kawasaki outfit, was traced to the fuel injection electronics, which were replaced.

The extra sprizzle of the new fuelling system, as well as the knowledge that a couple of South Africans, including one of his riding students were in the large crowd watching, must have worked its magic, for Shanter blitzed off the line like a startled puma in race 1 on Sunday. From the far outside of the starting line up, he suddenly found himself in 11th position. He maintained his position for a few laps, the made a pass, hoisting him into the as-yet uncharted waters of circulating in the top 10 in a GP. The South African was riding a cracker of a race and holding his own, but unfortunately for him, as Julien Bill passed on the factory Aprilia, a rock god flung up and caught him squarely on the nose. The involuntary tearing up that this resulted in hampered him for a while, and as a result, he lost another few spots. Yet he soldiered on, and crossed the line in 14th po sition, for the second week in succession his best race result in the MX1 GP class.

Another good start in race 2, although not quite as noticeable as the one in the first outing, got Shanter straight into the points scoring zone again. The going was tough on a roughening track, requiring every ounce of energy and every speckle of concentration of one were to avoid major mishap. Shannon rode a steady race, and again clicked off a couple of world championship points by finishing seventeenth.

With seventeenth overall, a result of 2 points scoring finishes, Shannon had good reason to flash the whiter-than-whites after the race. He has scampered up two positions to 23rd in the world standings, and more significantly, is now gaining confidence that his speed on the brutal Sturm Kawasaki is edging ever closer to that of the class leaders.

The South African will do duty for his team at the next round of the ADAC German Masters series next weekend in his last weekend as a teenager.