Baller and Theart Win Again

Bike SA - June 1984

At the Zwartkops 6 Hour Endurance race on 12th May there was a brilliant turnout of a variety of machines ranging from standard 575cc's to super-singles of various shapes and sizes. Even the A Teams were there with guys like the Petersen brothers, Glen Williams, Alistair Janczuk and Kevin Hellyer mixing with Zwartkops regular stars like Mike Eglington and William Walker.

The overall winners were the guys who won the previous 6 hour - Klaus Baller and Kobus Theart on their Kawasaki 550. These guys are making a habit of winning the 6 hours with their steady fast riding and immaculate machine preparation.

With more than 30 bikes on the line the start was hectic. The Petersen's and Hellyer Honda 550 led initially but was soon passed by Koos Zietsman and Klaus Baller and then by Mike Eglington. The pace up front was hectic. Alistair Janczuk was one of the first casualties when he collided with a back marker. It was quite a bad prang with both bikes quite badly dinged and requiring a lot of pit work before they could get going again. Janczuk and Williams on the Yamaha 550 thus suffered a bad blow as they were among the favourites to win this race. The leading bikes of Koos Zietsman and William Walker suffered a setback when a flat tyre caused Walker to go sliding down the road. They effected some lengthy repairs and got going again, but were out of serious contention. They rode like superstars, however, and still managed to finish fifth overall with some hairy knee scraping antics that made everybody think that it was only a matter of time before they would go sliding down the road again.

In second place were the three riders, Mike Eglington, Miss Terry van Enter and Phil Shackleton on the Yamaha 350 after a very fast and steady ride.

Altogether a really enjoyable day was had by all the riders.

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