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RACE
REPORT: THE WOMZA FULL THROTTLE MX NATIONAL AT SUN CITY
13 February 2012
by Laren van der Westhuizen
The first round of the WOMZA, Full Throttle National Motocross
Championship was held at the exotic Sun City resort. Unfortunately
rain the night before and all the way through the morning, made
things a little difficult for the organizers and for the riders.
The event finally got under way with the MX2 class having to brave
the muddy conditions first. By the end of practice, the sun had
come out and racing became an actual possibility!
The Sun City track was initially built to host world championships
events and all the riders were excited to ride a former GP track.
The ruts formed really deep and track conditions were tougher than
most hoped for for the first round of a long season.
The 50cc class was really exciting.
Christiaan Cilliers stamped his authority on the championship, by
winning both heats. Justin Sangster proved he was a title contender
by being the fastest on the track, but just has to work on starts
and consistancy. 2 other riders who really showed great form, was
Vincent Van Rooy and Jonothan Mlimi. Unfortunately, the transponder
wires were kicked out by a spectator and due to no 2nd heat result,
an official overall has yet to be posted.
The 65cc class was the Slade
Smith show, as he ran away with both wins. The rest were left to
battle for 2nd. Wikus Van Sandwyk earned that honor as he finished
2nd and 3rd for 2nd overall. Grant Hutton was 3rd in heat 1, but
mechanical problems put him down the field in heat 2, which gave
Dalton Venter 3rd overall.
The junior 85cc class saw Marcus
Phelps win heat one with the pocket rocket, Justin Thompson on his
tail. In heat 2, Marcus could only manage a 7th after a crash and
left him in 2nd place overall, just ahead of the KZN rider, Janes
Van Sandwyk. The win overall went to the pre-season favourite, Justin
Thompson and with his robot like consistancy, he will be a hard
man to beat. Slade Smith had a great result to finish 4th after
winning the 65cc class.
The 125cc class was a close
affair. The pre-season favourite, Bradley Fenton crashed hard in
heat 1 and chose to sit out of heat 2. This left the door open to
some hungry "dogs". The hugriest of the them all, being
the Monster Energy rider, Jesse Wright. He finished 1st and 2nd,
for first overall. Justin Mittens struggled a bit in heat 1, but
came out firing in heat 2 to win and take 2nd overall. The Honda
rider Callum McMaster finished in 3rd.
The Masters class saw Wayne
Smith win his millionth race (LOL)! He just cannot be stopped, and
claimed yet another overall win. Geoff Den finished in 2nd with
him and Gary Killian finishing on equal points. The better 2nd heat
counted for Den and left Killian in 3rd. The oldest guy in the field
finished 4th, Rod Bergstrom, and looked like he really enjoyed the
tough conditions.
The Vets class was a runaway
victory for Ian topliss. Bruce May, who won the holeshot for headphones
from Skull Candy, finished in 2nd. Craig Kruger had some bad starts,
but managed to round out the podium. The reigning champion, Roger
Bergstrom had a disaster 2nd heat and could only manage 4th overall.
The Pro-mini class was a Honda
affair. With Tristan Purdon winning the first heat and his teammate
for PS Honda in 2nd, it was clear that they will be hard to beat.
In heat 2 though, tristan Purdon suffered a front tyre puncture
and could only manage 9 points. This left Dirco VD Westhuizen on
the top step of the podium and a consistant 3-3 left Joshua Mlimi
in 2nd place. Dylan Mostert had a great day, to finish in 3rd.
The MX1 class was a 2 way battle
in both heats. A resurgent Ross Branch put the pressure on Richard
VD Westhuizen in heat 1, but just had no way through. Wyatt Avis
finished 3rd. In heat 2 Van Der Westhuizen won a little easier as
Branch didn't get such a great start. Branch would still finish
up 2nd with PS Honda rider Michael Kok chasing him down for 3rd.
Kerim Fitzgerald holeshoted heat 2 to get the Skull candy headphones,
but could only manage 4th place overall. Wyatt Avis had a big crash
in heat 2 and DNF'd, which will leave him with some catching up
to do.
The MX2 class picked up a new
sponsor for the championship, Contiki tours SA. The winner of the
championship will get a fully paid for international trip for 2
to either Thailand or skiing in Austria. This meant the pace was
frenetic, but was quite clear that Kerim Fitzgerald would be the
man to catch as he won both heats. Richard VD Westhuizen finished
2nd in both heats, but showed great speed and if he can get better
starts, he will be a serious race factor. Wyatt Avis also sufferd
bad starts, but was able to race to a 4th and a 3rd for 3rd overall.
Darryl Fitzgerald was 4th, PS Honda rider Raynard in 5th and Merik
Sparg in 6th.
Despite a few teething problems, the race day was a great success
and we looking forward to an even bigger and better national in
Bloemfontein on the 24th of March.
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