Hanging out with the King Price Xtreme Team

Words by Mitchell Boyes. Pics by Beam Productions

Recently, the King Price Extreme (KPX) Racing team held a virtual presentation to allow journalists the opportunity to chat with their riders. In terms of the riders this year, King Price Extreme have four extremely talented riders. Clinton Seller is the team leader and by far the team member with the most experience. He is a 7-time South African Superbike champion and has been racing for most of his life. Next, we have Sfiso Themba. Sfiso will also be riding the CBR1000RR-R and partnering with Clinton this year. Apart from these two riders, King Price is passionate about investing in young talents, it’s for this reason that the KPX racing team has two youngsters riding with them. The first of the two is Leungo Gaorekwa, a very talented 16-year-old who will be riding the KTM RC390, a bike that he is very familiar with after racing it in 2020. Last but not least there is Cayden Robert. Cayden is the youngest rider in the KPX squad at only 12 years old. Despite his age though he is quick and a fast learner. Cayden will be riding in the NSF 100 class as well as the 150cc class.

Last year KPX ran Yamaha Machinery, and the Yamahas were bikes that the entire team knew very well. This year though, there has been a big change. The team has switched from Yamaha to Honda power for the Superbike class and will be riding the 2021 Honda CBR1000RR-R. Clint Seller said that it was cool to go back on a Honda as it was the manufacturer that carried him to his first-ever championship win. He also said that it would be a big challenge as the bike is new and they are going into the unknown. He did say though, that when they show how good the bike is, it will be special.

Next Rob asked Clint how different it has been Starting the season with the Honda compared to the R1 with which he had so much experience. Clint said it had aged him five years in three weeks. Due to the bike being so new and the very limited racing that took place last year, there is very little data to work with. Clint said that they been working with Honda Australia as well as the teams from BSB to try and find some helpful data. That wasn’t massively helpful though as those two championships run different tyres to the ones the KPX Hondas will be running. Clint did say though that they are slowly but surely coming right in terms of finding a good base setup that they can then tweak from race to race. 

Clint went on to say that he is more focused this year than he has been in the last four years. He says that even though things are a bit difficult now, he has been through a difficult time before and come through stronger and better and he says that the same applies here. He is motivated and ready to Race. 

Rob then asked Sfiso a question. Rob asked how Sfiso, at 39, can be so committed to a factory team. Sfiso said that is was because of his passion. He said that the fact that he was so passionate about the sport, and the fact that he is surrounded by people who are also passionate about the sport, makes it far easier to be so committed. He went on to say that he has been working very hard to turn himself into more of a racer, getting stronger, fitter and faster. In terms of the bike, he says he is learning how to get the most of it. He says that he has learnt to not fight the bike, but rather to guide it and this has helped him get faster. 

Next, the interview moved on to the youngsters. The question, how did you get into bike racing, was asked to both of them. Leungo said he asked his dad for a Quadbike when he was very young and transitioned to two wheels from there. In 2016 he started in the NSF100 championship and has worked his way up from there. He went on to say that he is both inspired by and aspires to be like Brad Binder. The same question was asked of Cayden. Cayden said that he grew up at the track watching his brother race and decided that it looked like fun. He said that his aim for this year is to win the NSF100 championship and do well in the 150cc class championship. Lastly, he said that he was inspired by his brother and father. 

The next question was also directed to both youngsters. Rob asked them why choose motorcycle racing out of all the options. Cayden said that is simple, he just loves racing. Leungo said that there is nothing else he wants to. He said that motorcycle racing provides him with an indescribable feeling. 

The next question was for Honda themselves. During this time when money isn’t easy to come by because of covid etc, why invest so much money into racing now. The representative from Honda said that it has been a while since they participated in South African racing. Now though with the launching of the new Fireblade, it seemed like a good time to re-invest in the South African racing scene. 

Lastly, it was the title sponsor, King Price’s turn to speak. King Price said that they pride themselves on supporting local talent, especially kids. They want to show other brands that there is value in South African motorsports.

NGK SASBK round 1, Killarney CPT

Clint Seller and Sfiso Themba headed to the Mother City to compete in round 1 of the 2021 NGK SASBK championship. Clint managed a solid weekend, progressing every session on the new Honda FireBlade. He picked up two second-place finishes and more importantly valuable data on the new bike heading into future rounds.

Sfiso had a tough weekend, crashing out and damaging his bike meaning he was unable to start either race. It’s still very much all about learning for Sfiso who will look to bounce back in a positive way next time out.

To end off, we at Moto Rider World would like to wish the King Price Extreme Racing team and all of their riders good luck for the 2021 season, and we are very proud to have our logo featured on the JNR teams bikes and pit branding. We look forward to giving them maximum exposure in the season ahead.