In only his second outing on a near-standard Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5, local motorcycle racer David ‘McFlash’ McFadden from Cape Town took a double victory at Killarney. McFadden, who had his very first outing on the bike – and winning the event – at the Mike Hopkins Regional Superbike Championship event at Killarney on Saturday 5 September, returned to Cape Town late on Wednesday morning after racing overseas.
 He went home to “greet the dog, see my parents and say hi to my girlfriend”, but was back on the bike before the end of the day to put in a few laps around Killarney. “The race direction was turned around for this race and I needed to get a feel for it,” he said. “At the end of the day it was just like racing on a new circuit for me, which I do frequently, and it was just like another race somewhere.” On Saturday inclement weather proved to be a challenge for the field, with some riders opting for wet weather tyres, some for intermediates and some for dry weather tyres. “In qualifying we decided to go for a wet weather tyre on the front and a dry on the back and qualified in fourth,” said McFadden, who made some changes to the set-up of his bike for the first race. “All went well and by the end of the first lap I was leading – just in time to see the red flag when the race was stopped because of a first lap incident.” For the restart McFadden was moved up to pole and that was where he remained for the last five laps of the 8-lap race, ending with a gap of around half a second. “We made some more set-up changes to the back for the second race,” explained McFadden before the late afternoon start of the last bike event of the day. “The bike just turns extremely well and holds a line like nothing else I have ridden, and again I took full advantage of that,” said McFadden. This was only the second race with this bike, and the only technical change to the performance was the use of an after-market exhaust system. “We de-catted the bike (removed the catalytic converter), but apart from an over-the-counter filter and a quick shifter everything is standard. We are waiting for a performance air filter from overseas, but it hasn’t arrived yet.” The regional superbike events use the second best qualifying time for the second race as opposed to the first race results, and this time McFadden was parked on the inside of the front row (3rd). McFadden had the big crowd at Killarney cheering as he came around the last corner of the first lap in second place, but accelerated into the lead with the front wheel lifting off the ground as he passed the line, ending the second race ended in a victory of over three seconds. “Every little change helps, and this time it allowed me to open up a sizable gap,” he said after the race. “A double victory in just our second race on a near standard Suzuki GSXR 1000 L5 was a very special feeling for the team and fans of the Suzuki Way of Life alike,” said Suzuki’s regional Dealer Area Manager for the Western Cape, Dominic Nessling, who assisted David and the team. McFadden, racing on two wheels since he received his first MSA licence at the age of just four years, is now off to race for Team Suzuki Europe at Magny-Cours in France on 4 October. “I hope to be racing for them full-time next year, but I am committed to the local series as well,” he said. |
