Shannon Terreblanche (RSA) capped his 2007 European racing season in fine style with an emphatic victory at the Schijndel supercross. This event has enjoyed an uninterrupted run of 24 years and has become one of the classics on the European calendar. The fact that the race takes place in two adjacent halls of a manege normally used for equestrian events, adds to the charm, and once a year, the snort of horses makes way for the far more intense grunt of racing motorcycles.
Shannon's last supercross outing was at this event a year ago, and the teenager needed a short burst of training to get back into the rhythm of things. The training session went well, and his minders were confident that he was a certain podium candidate on the weekend on his Beursfoon Suzuki. Shannon was still familiarizing himself during time training on Saturday, and set the fourth fastest qualifying time. The International class riders were split into groups for their qualifying races, and it was during these races that the South African's weekend started to take shape. With riders like Dutchmen Rinus Van Der Ven, German Stefan Ludwig, Brit Ashley Greedy and Norwegian Per Kristian Bakke present, the event was by no means a walkover, and some hard graft was called for if any reasonable result was desired.
In front of a capacity crowd, the proceedings got underway. Shannon made the most of his starting skills for which he has become renowned, and shot to the front on both occasions. He experienced some opposition at the start of both qualifying races, in both instances mainly from supercross veteran Stefan Ludwig, but on both occasions he kicked into overdrive at half distance and left the German and the rest of the field trailing in his wake.
 Shannon Terreblanche (RSA) / photo by: Kees Siroo The Superfinal race of Saturday night would be a different affair altogether. It pitted all the international riders together and now the battle would really be on. Shannon made his work easy with another blinding start, and for once, fortune smiled on him as the winner of the other qualifying group, Rinus Van Der Ven, got held up in a first corner shunt. Shannon clicked into high gear, and that was the last that the rest of the field saw of him. As the last lap board came out, he could relax the pace, and still won the race by a convincing margin.
Sunday was a special day in the Terreblanche household. Shannon's dad, Donald, could carve another notch in his age tree, and hopes were high that junior would give dad a birthday to remember. The confidence from the day before was evident, and he posted the fastest time during qualifying practice. The format of the racing was changed for Sunday, and the races would now be run as three final heats with all riders included.
In the first heat, Shannon dove into the first corner just behind Van Der Ven. A mistake on the second lap saw him lose some distance on the Dutch rider, and he had to use all his energies to catch up to the lead again. Within a few laps, the lead had visibly shrunk, and with a few laps to go, he was right on the leader's rear wheel and ready to pounce. He forced his way past, but made a mistake and went down. allowing Van der Ven to escape. To add insult to injury, Czech rider Philip Neugebauer also slipped past, and by now there was too little time left for Shannon to regain any of the positions lost, and he crossed the line in third position.
Matters were getting tense now for the overall victory, and Shannon was determined not to let the big trophy out of his hands. He blazed to the front in heat two, and from that second no one looked likely to challenge him at all. An encounter with a trackside straw bale caused him to lose some of his lead, but he still took the checkered flag as first rider across the line, underlying an emphatic ride with an easy victory.
Shannon had a handsome points lead going into the last race, and only a major catastrophe could keep him from overall victory now. The team urged caution, since the opposition, with nothing to lose, would go all out for victory as the red mist came down, and anything could happen. Shannon, for once, fluffed his start somewhat when his bike ran into the gate, but he still banged his way to third position through the whoops section. Greedy was leading, followed by Van Der Ven, and a very physical battle ensued. Shannon closed in on this battle, but a mistake in the back section of the track cost him some time, and he lost the connection. Knowing that the overall victory was safe, he set the cruise control and finished third for the race.
 Shannon Terreblanche (RSA)
Photo by: Henry Dunnewind The teenager could look back on a very productive weekend. All in all he had three four race victories and two third place finishes, making him the deserved recipient of the silverware, the second South African to do so, after Wyatt Avis claimed similar honours in 2005.
"This has been a great weekend for me, and I wanted to win it for my dad," he said. "I also want to thank John Beijer and Beursfoon for helping me so much this year. They have been unbelievably good to me and the bikes are simply awesome. I am also grateful to Tinus Nel from Vangani Racing for what he has done for me over the years and continues to do for me. We will visit my sister in England for a few days now, and after that I return to South Africa to visit family and friends and to start my preparation for next year."
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