Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Webbo leads the charge in Kyalami

By Glenn LeSanto

Steve Webster took provisional pole at Kyalami despite fitting a ‘safe’ engine to his outfit for Kyalami.

“We built a safe motor for this round as we thought it would be better to go for reliability over outright speed,” explained Webster. “We struggled to get the carbs right but we’re somewhere near getting it right now. The problem is the altitude–it makes it feel like the engine has no power.” Steve looked happy and relaxed after the session but he’s serious about getting maximum points this weekend. “We want to have a good finish and stay in the title hunt.” Steve also admitted that he’d forgotten his way around the circuit after two years away, “I got lost a couple of times! But it’s a lovely track, but with all the left-handers it’s hard on passengers.”

Webbo’s arch rival Klaus Klaffenbock was happy with his provisional second on the grid even though he is still using a carburetted R1 and giving away capacity, and of course power, to Webster’s Suzuki GSX-R-based motor. He expects to have the new injected R1 engine fitted by Monza.

Jorg Steinhausen was third fastest after an eventful day on the circuit. His passenger Trevor Hopkinson tested out the little green pipes that stick out of the ground on the chicane. “I thought they were made of some soft plastic until I hit one with my leg,” said Hopkinson, “but I soon found out how hard they really are and thought I’d broken my leg!”

Martien van Gils and his son Tonnie enjoyed their first taste of the 2002 Superside Championship. Despite only having tested once before coming to Kyalami, and that in the rain, the pair finished the session fourth fastest, just easing Muldoon and Peach down into fifth on their last lap. What’s more that test had ended with them crashing and turning their outfit over!