From a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

17 APR: Phakisa Freeway

Proton Team KR : Welkom Preview

Is Welkom the Die-Hard Two-Strokes’ last stand?

The South African GP sees Proton Team KR riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki in what they hope will be their last time in the role of David against several Goliaths.

The pair of racers played a valiant role last year, harrying the 500cc two-stroke rivals and now-and-then teasing the ultra-powerful new 990cc four-strokes at tracks where the lightweight KR3’s handling made up for the power deficit.

They will do so again at the South African GP, at Welkom’s Phakisa Freeway circuit, next Sunday.

At the same time, riders and team are also coming to the end of a waiting game. Even before they left for South Africa, Proton Team KR’s own V5 990cc four-stroke was fast reaching the stage of shake-down track tests, with both riders and team owner Kenny Roberts standing by for their first taste of the future.

All being well, the team still targets a race debut two weeks after the South African round, at the Spanish GP at Jerez.

This puts a different complexion on the South African round, which could be the last ever race to see a 500cc two-stroke in action. The type dominated the premier class for more than 25 years, but they were swamped by the power of the 990cc MotoGP machines introduced last year.

“I hope this will be the last GP our riders are the slowest down the straight,” said Kenny Roberts, the driving force behind the team, as well as the enormous project to design and build the all-new V5 racer.

The twisting Phakisa Freeway, at a power-sapping altitude of more than 4,500 feet, has some peculiarities that counteract the inferior speed of the two-stroke die-hards, which last year were 13 km/h slower at the Phakisa straight.

The 2.6-mile track has no less than 14 corners, where the nimble KR3 can regain lost ground; while the surface is littered with bumps both large and small – another situation where the lighter weight pays dividends.

“There’s not much to say about this race,” said team manager Chuck Aksland. “We’re playing a waiting game, really. But we’ll have a full pit crew, and we’ll do the best we can. It’s a track where the field gets spread out, and if we can keep the bikes running right both our guys have a chance of getting in the points.”

But at least part of the everybody’s minds will be back at base in Banbury, England, where the fresh new howl of the racing V5 signals a new start in the near future.

The South African round signals the end of the season-opening “flyaway” races. Two weeks later, the fortnight treadmill of the European season begins in earnest at the Spanish GP at Jerez.

Jeremy McWilliams
This track’s nothing like Suzuka. The difference with the four-strokes won’t be so great. They’re really strong the way they catapult out of corners as well as just straightline speed, but there’s some sections at Welkom that are flowing, and we’re alright there. We were holding our own quite well last year, before I had gearbox trouble. I’m hoping to have ridden the V5 before the race, so if that feels good straight away then it will be more frustrating to be back on the two-stroke. But we need to test the new bike at a circuit before we can race it. We have to do it process by process.

Nobuatsu Aoki
This was my second race last year, and once we started I was able to be quite competitive, until something leaked. Welkom is not like any other circuit. It’s more like a pocket-bike track, with one fast section. The two-stroke is quite good in the technical sections. I will be trying to make sure to finish, and hope to get some points. Of course it’s a race, and I always try my best. I will be thinking about the four-stroke as well, and how quickly we can make that ready for racing.