South African Rider Takes On Chopper

Storm’s fiancé, Colin Lehmann, decided to make her a dream a reality by organising the unique challenge.

The stage for the challenge was Phakisa Raceway near Welkom in the Free State and her opponent pilots Alister Brown and Graeme Clarke, CEO of King Air Services, in a Bell 407 helicopter.

Storm took on the challenge on her trusty Honda CBR600RR and it took all of five minutes to decide how the race would be run: a sighting lap and a single hot lap with a rolling start. Clarke took the air first and showed the Bell's capabilities.

Despite the helicopter's handling prowess, the first round was won by Storm, who had the advantage in the final hairpin. After the first round the chopper landed for a pilot swop as Brown would be flying in the final round.

Brown's approach was slightly different: he dived out of the turns to gain speed and flew close to the ground to gain height again before banking around turns.

The final sprint to the flag resulted in a tie.