Nigeria's Festival of Speed.
So the 2015
edition of Nigeria's Superbike Road Race has come and gone. Motoring Nigeria
was present to cover every single bit of the event which was a grand success
and of course a significant improvement compared to last year's event. It
was an exhilarating weekend for all those who attended the event as everybody
got their own excessive dose of adrenaline
Friday 27th of November, 2015 was the
date slated for arrival at Motel Bellisima in the ancient city of Benin, Edo
state. On that day, Nigerians witnessed the presence of bikers on various
highways as they made their way to Benin from all over the country. Saturday morning
was quite unique as everyone woke up feeling all energetic and ready to race
but before that, we first had to travel about 1.5 hours from Benin through
Benin-Asaba expressway to the race location- Urhonigbe, Edo State.
On our arrival at Urhonighe, we were welcomed by
the sheer serenity of the area, we knew we were in a whole different
environment as the children, women and men lined up the smooth virgin asphalt
welcoming us with smiles and waving at us till we got to the race venue.
Riding to the venue and it was clear that the organisers had found a
32km stretch of road that was "perfect" for street race course
having obtained the approval of the Government of Edo State to shut down the
road for the purpose of the race. It is a 32 km stretch of smooth track like asphalt
surface, with long straights where the racers easily hit above 290km/hr
and sharp, slow and fast curves that test the braking and cornering ability of
the racers. It was clear we were in for a racing treat.
This year also saw the presence of two global power brands in motorsport
in attendance - RedBull and Yamaha Racing.
The event started with a few practice
laps for bikers who wanted to get accustomed to the beautiful curves the road
had to offer. The practice laps were followed by a dance presentation which
sort of snowballed into a competition (who knew bikers could dance). This was
followed by the introduction of the contestants for the Ultimate Bike Girl
Nigeria Pageant and occasional drone performances by the drone pilot who was
supposed to be using the drone to video the event, but hey, its okay because
the villagers liked it and I know that because they never stopped waving at the
drone. After all these, the race began, with up to 40 contestants covering the
32km route each. Male and female winners emerged in both the 600cc (capacity)
and 1000cc categories. Jack Affara who won last year's race also clinched the
first position in The BT Championship 1000cc Category this year covering 32km
in 10 mins 28 seconds, second position went to Ahmed Alpacino who covered 32km
in 10 mins 42 seconds and the third position went to Mohammed (Mo Ducati) who
covered 32km in 10mins 54seconds. The female winners were Oreoluwa Ojo
(15mins 23seconds), Jeminat Olumegbon (15mins 31seconds) and Kelly
Jumbo (16mins 40seconds). The Above 1000cc Category winners were Argo Raak
(10mins 11seconds), Ini Ralph (10mins 57seconds) and Darlinton (11mins 1second).After
the race, we proceeded to the finish line at Ugbokirima where trophies were
awarded to the winners. After all said and done, we again hit the highway for
the ride back to Benin where some people chilled and others decided to cool off
by swimming. Evening time came and that signalled the beginning of the Ultimate
Bike Girl Nigeria Pageant at Hexagon Hotel, where Miss Onyinye Okereke emerged
as the winner. To spice up the evening, a car raffle draw was held and was won
by Miss Oreoluwa Ojo who went home with a brand new Kia Picanto. Sunday the
29th of November, 2015 was departure day and we prepared for the hard ride back
to base.
I have attended some motorsport
events in Nigeria and this stands as the most memorable. I say kudos to the
organizers for striving to introduce genuine motorsport to Nigeria, even though
there is still great room for improvement. This was serious racing!
As with all races, there is the
likelihood of crashes. In this year's event, there were about seven crashes.
Most of the crashes happening at a famous high speed right turn curve.
Thankfully, there were no serious injuries and the racers are back home and
well and already planning for next years event which comes up again on the 26th
of November, 2016. Going by the successes achieved at this year's event, it
will be correct to say that motorsport, superbike racing, has taken off in
Nigeria. IF you pump RED, like me, don't miss next year's event.
Good writeup, wish I could stay for the whole event
ReplyDeleteRacing come next edition.... watch this space
Thanks.... Hopefully we would see next year
ReplyDelete