A look back at Kyalami - the last 3 editions

2000 - The new Honda VTR1000 twin won on its first appearance in race 1 at Kyalami. It was not difficult to predict though, as Colin Edwards (photo) had recorded amazing lap times during the winter in all of the circuits he tested. The race was a three-man affair involving Edwards, Haga and Fogarty. Edwards led from the start, but on the penultimate lap Haga was able to go in front, Edwards reacted and on the last lap went back into the lead to win, with Fogarty in third, very close, but unable to attack because he was still suffering from an accident in testing and his shoulder was not at 100%. At the second start the task for Fogarty was even harder, because he remained trapped behind Aoki while Haga, Edwards, Corser and Chili pulled away from the rest. Fogarty quickly set after the leaders, was even able to pass Corser, but after ten laps fell and was out of the race. In the second part of the race Haga improved his pace and Edwards gave up, to secure a safe second, also because Chili had already dropped his pace in third and Corser was further behind on fourth. The Japanese rider won, but he was later disqualified after he failed a drugs test. The Haga affair would be a season-long dispute in the courts, more or less like the Slight affair back in 1994.

2001 - Ben Bostrom took pole at Kyalami, but in race 1 Edwards was out on his own; Bayliss stayed with him for half of the race, then gave up the fight, leaving the American to cruise to the end. Third was Corser and fourth Bostrom, who in race 2 took the lead immediately at the start, while Edwards had to pass Bayliss and Corser before starting to chase him. Colin had another pace in Kyalami, caught Ben and managed to pass him, but suffered a mechanical failure soon afterwards and Bostrom won unchallenged, since Bayliss was not able to catch him and Corser was too far seconds behind. Edwards' failure put the spotlight on Honda's poor reliability in the first two races: the American had lost a win and his team-mate Okada suffered three failures in four races (he was still at zero points after a clash with Laconi in Valencia that completed the series of retirements).

2002 - At Kyalami there were few changes in the finishing order from what the Championship had shown so far, as it was a two-man duel between Bayliss and Edwards. In race 1 Bayliss won from Edwards and Xaus, in race 2 from...Xaus and Edwards. All three were on Michelin rubber in a year where the tyre war was crucial for performance: the Dunlop riders were not so far behind, but not in a condition to fight for the win. Haga was a clear example: the Japanese rider twice started well and was even able to take the lead, Bayliss had only to wait for the Dunlops to wear out and then passed Haga, who wasn't a problem anymore for the rest of the races.