Clint Seller is SA’s undisputed king of Ultimate Superbike racing. With 10 championships to his name, he’s created a legacy for younger riders to aspire to. And now, in 2024, he has his sights set on the ZX10 Masters Cup. Still with King Price Xtreme backing him, this shift entails a move away from his beloved Honda CBR1000RR-R to a Kawasaki – and, even after more than 30 years in the saddle, he anticipates a learning curve. ‘This year is the first time I’ll be competing in this type of one-make bike championship. So I need to learn and find the limits fast.’
Luckily ‘fast’ is how Clint operates. After a few years spent racing professionally in the United States, even winning an American national endurance title in 2010, he headed home to South Africa and promptly celebrated his return by winning the SA 600cc title in 2012. It was the first in what was to become a string of national titles, starting with a three-year run from 2013 to 2015, repeating his success in 2017 and 2019, and then stringing together a sequence of title wins in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Maybe it was just coincidence that he started dating his now-wife in 2013, right at the start of this incredible winning streak; maybe her support just can’t be under-estimated. In any event, Seller says that she’s his number 1 fan and he plans to keep it that way by impressing her with more wins. Their two daughters are also massive fans, and ‘quality time’ – a priority in the Seller family – happens both at the track and at home.
Clints daughter appears not to have inherited her dad’s racing genes. He was only 3-years-old when he got onto a motorbike for the first time. His father had to replace the bike seat with a piece of sponge so that his feet could touch the ground, but it was the start of a lifelong love affair with motorbikes.
The story could’ve been totally different, though, if Seller senior had his way. ‘My dad was a car racer and wanted me to follow in his footsteps. When I was 7, he got me into go-karting. But when I was 12, I told him I liked motorbikes more. Awkward. But the next year, he gave me 1 of his road bikes to go around Kyalami. At 14, he bought me a 600cc motorcycle. That was 20 years ago, and I’ve been racing bikes ever since.’
Apart from a break-in win in the ZX10 Masters Cup, Seller is aiming to make an even bigger impact in the racing industry in 2024, by continuing to mentor and train the King Price Xtreme team’s younger riders.
Published by: Nhlalo Dlangalala
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