Rising fuel prices are having a devastating effect on the local motorsport industry, with many teams cutting back on practices and skipping events to save money.
Clint Seller, the reigning SA superbike champion who leads the King Price Xtreme motorbike racing team, said the team was already missing a race in KwaZulu-Natal and focusing more on local inland events to cut back on travel costs.
Fuel prices have risen steeply in 2022, from R19.71 a litre for unleaded 95 in January to more than R26 a litre in July. Seller believes the long-term viability of local motorsport, especially in smaller urban centres, is under threat if a solution is not found.
"It’s been extremely tough on the racing industry. We race all over the country and have to transport the motorbikes with trucks to get to the various venues. Budgets were planned when the fuel price was under R20 a litre. The current fuel prices, even with the slight decrease in August, mean riders from smaller-budget teams simply aren’t going to the away races," said Seller.
The cost of fuel has also impacted riders’ ability to practice. Modern superbikes burn R1,000 in fuel in 30 laps, meaning teams must make sure every one counts. And while teams work to save in other areas, such as transport and support vehicles, there’s not much more they can do to their machines to maintain competitive performance.
"We’d just started recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the local racing industry, but the fuel prices have caught most of us off guard. My fear is race calendars are going to have to be adjusted and the worst-affected will be the smaller towns and racetracks. That’s really sad because we always get great support at the away races," said Seller.
Rising fuel prices hit local motorsport industry hard
Image: Supplied
Rising fuel prices are having a devastating effect on the local motorsport industry, with many teams cutting back on practices and skipping events to save money.
Clint Seller, the reigning SA superbike champion who leads the King Price Xtreme motorbike racing team, said the team was already missing a race in KwaZulu-Natal and focusing more on local inland events to cut back on travel costs.
Fuel prices have risen steeply in 2022, from R19.71 a litre for unleaded 95 in January to more than R26 a litre in July. Seller believes the long-term viability of local motorsport, especially in smaller urban centres, is under threat if a solution is not found.
"It’s been extremely tough on the racing industry. We race all over the country and have to transport the motorbikes with trucks to get to the various venues. Budgets were planned when the fuel price was under R20 a litre. The current fuel prices, even with the slight decrease in August, mean riders from smaller-budget teams simply aren’t going to the away races," said Seller.
The cost of fuel has also impacted riders’ ability to practice. Modern superbikes burn R1,000 in fuel in 30 laps, meaning teams must make sure every one counts. And while teams work to save in other areas, such as transport and support vehicles, there’s not much more they can do to their machines to maintain competitive performance.
"We’d just started recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the local racing industry, but the fuel prices have caught most of us off guard. My fear is race calendars are going to have to be adjusted and the worst-affected will be the smaller towns and racetracks. That’s really sad because we always get great support at the away races," said Seller.
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