Clint Seller has been penalised for the incident in which he collided with team-mate Dylan White in race two of the sixth round of the Monster Energy SuperGP national motorcycle championship at Zwartkops Raceway west of Pretoria on Sunday (September 14).
The championship leader was excluded from the result of the race, in which he finished eighth after an uncharacteristic fall on lap 2. This means that his loses the eight points he earned and his lead over Lance Isaacs in the championship after the Zwartkops round, with two rounds remaining, is reduced to 10 points (228-218).
The incident happened. when Seller, who had spent some time in the pits fixing his Portable Shade Race! Kawasaki ZX10R after his crash and lost seven laps to the leaders, tried to unlap himself as he caught White and Brent Harran (Black Swan Energy BMW S1000RR), who were lying second and first respectively at the time.
He tried to pass White on the inside and the two Kawasakis collided, with White then colliding with Harran and going down. Harran managed to stay on his bike and continued to finish second behind Isaacs, while White was forced to retire. Seller also managed to stay upright and continue.
The penalty follows a hearing attended by both riders and was applied by the race officials, race director Paddy Venske and clerk of the course Dick Shuttle, after viewing TV footage of the incident and interviewing the two Kawasaki riders.
Seller finished eighth and six laps down to earn a valuable eight championship points. He now leads Isaacs by 18 points (236-218) and Harran by 44 points (236-192).
