1701 RF final

Troy Bezuidenhout
(European Junior Cup)
Number: 52
Born: 24/08/2000
From: Port Shepston, Kwa-Zulu Natal
Bike: Into the Blue Diving - Costa Del Sol
Honda
Troy Bezuidenhout, comes from a family
with a serious two wheeled racing history.
His grandfather is still the only South
African to have competed in sidecar at the
Isle of Man. Troy’s father, Charles was a
double national motocross champion. Both
his uncle’s also won national motocross
championships. Troy began his racing
career at an early age. He began racing
on a Moto3 bike here in South Africa. At
thirteen, he became the youngest South
African Moto3 champion. 2014 saw Troy
have his first real big break. He rode a
wildcard ride in the Pata European Junior
Cup at Jerez. He left a great impression with
a thirteenth place finish at the age of just
fourteen. In 2015 he competed in his first
full season in the Pata European Junior Cup
with a best finish of 10th.
2016
It was a good season for Troy apart from a
crash in the third round of the championship
in the UK, forcing him out of the fourth
round. Rounds one and two resulted in top
ten finishes, 8th and 7th respectively. Troy
picked up his first podium in the European
Junior Championship in Germany, round
5, with a third place. He picked up where
he left off with another fine performance
in France, round 6 where he would finish
sixth. Round 7 in Spain would feature two
races. Troy again riding well as he went on
to grab eighth in race 1 and fifth in race 2.
Troy finished the season eighth overall in
the championship. Troy has signed on with
the R2 MotorRacing team in the European
SuperSport Championship for 2017.
Dorren Loureiro (European
Junior Cup/Super600
Nationals)
Number: 20
Born: 21/06/1999
From: Johannesburg
Bike: Family Fitness Racing Honda
(EJC) WildSport Racedays Honda (World
SuperSport) Familt Fitness Kawasaki
(Super600’s)
From a young age, Dorren was exposed
to the world of motorcycles and motorcycle
racing. He would go with his dad, Armando,
to watch racing. On a call with Armando, he
told me how he vowed never to get Dorren
in to racing, it was just too dangerous and
expensive. He would in the end go back on
that. Darren and his dad were at one of the
last World SuperBike races in South Africa
when they were exposed to the NSF series.
They spoke to Neil Harran and organised
a ride for Dorren in NSF in 2012. Armando
spoke of how Dorren was a natural on the
bike right from the get go. This would prove
to be true as he went on to win a regional
250 championships in 2014. The time
then came to way up the options, either
move up to the local 600’s or to take the
chance overseas in the EJC. In the end the
decision was made for Dorren to ride in
the EJC. One of the deciding factors was
track knowledge. With future aspirations
overseas, Armando knew Dorren would
need to gain the track knowledge in Europe
as soon as he could, as the riders over
there were all brought up on those very
tracks. Early on in EJC, Dorren performed
well with top fives and sixes, while racing
riders with far more track knowledge.
2016
Stand out performances in the 2016
season for Dorren, came in the Aragon
and UK rounds of the EJC. He picked
up a tenth in the first round at Aragon
and an impressive fifth in the UK. He
was unfortunate to retire from the race in
Misano. Looking at his lap times in the race,
he may have had another top ten in the
bag. For the final two rounds of the season,
Dorren would race in the World SuperSport
championship with the WildSport Racedays
Honda team. In his first race in France he
would finish twenty-ninth and twenty-fifth
in his second race at Jerez. Back in South
Africa Dorren rode for the Family Fitness
Kawasaki team in the Super600’s. With
so many commitments, it was difficult for
Dorren to pick up any momentum. His two
best finishes of fourth at Red Star Raceway
were an indication of his race pedigree.
Dorren will be riding in the new European
SuperSport 300 class in 2017 under David
Salom on board a Kawasaki.
48 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE JANUARY 2017