RACE REPORT: THE MSA NATIONAL AT TERRA TOPIA
7 June 2013

By Laren van der Westhuizen

Terra Topia hosted round 2 of the MSA national motocross series. A strong 73 riders attended the Joburg round on the fast and flowing TT circuit. Both the 50cc and senior track were prepped really well and despite the windy conditions, the organizers were able to keep the track well watered and in prime race condition.

The 50cc class was won by Camden McLellan. he had some competition from Jono Mlimi, but Jono made a few mistakes and Camden ended up with 2 easy wins. Hayden Tully was 3rd. Great to see 2 Zimbabwean and 2 Swaziland riders in the field.

The 65cc class was really stacked with Talent. Cameron Durow holeshotted heat 1 and despite some challenges from Dalton Venter, he was able to take the win. Cameron had a big crash in heat 2 and would DNF. Dalton Venter got the holeshot and checked out. Wikus Van Sandwyk was a solid 2nd and Zimbabwe rider Davin Cocker was 3rd. Christiaan cilliers would finish 3rd overall though with consistent performances.

The 85cc class saw the Zimbabwe rider regan Wasmuth holeshot heat 1. He managed to hold off Slade Smith for some time, but a rhythm section that he could not master, saw him drop back to 2nd as Slade Smith jumped his way to the front. Cayle Dormehl was 3rd. In heat 2, Cayle holshotted, but once again Slade Smith would make the pass in the rhythm section and take another win. Cayle finished 2nd and Regan 3rd.

In the pro-mini class Charl Van Eerden holeshotted heat 1. Soon, Marco DeVrye made the pass and wouldn't look back from there. Josh Mlimi worked his way to 2nd. Charl would fade back with bike trouble and hand 3rd to Slade Smith. In heat 2, Josh Mlimi holeshotted and didn't look back. The race was on for 2nd between Marco deVrye who got a bad start and Charl Van Eerden who looked better on a performing bike. With the win in heat 2, Josh would take the overall, with Marco in 2nd.

The 125 class saw Brad Cox go 1 – 1 on the day. He got some surprising pressure from an ever improving Jason visser. Jason ran similar times in the beginning of both races, but Brad’s consistency at that fast pace was the difference in the end. Brad is on a high after his return from USA and will be a hard man to beat for the rest of the season. Dirco VD Westhuizen was in 3rd for the day, but wasn’t getting the starts he would have liked. He will be on it at the next big race at TEZA.

The MX2 class had an unfamiliar winner to us in 2013. Sacha Naude doesn't often compete in MX2, but based on his performance here, he should as he took the overall. Kerim Fitzgerald worked hard to make it a win in MX1 and MX2, but Sacha was just too strong and Kerim had to settle for 2nd. Grant Frerichs rode to a lonely 3rd, but showed signs of being a big contender for the rest of the season.

The MX1 class saw a new winner for 2013. Kerim Fitzgerald got some awesome starts and forced Sacha Naude into mistakes. Sacha seemed quicker, but at the end of the day, Kerim kept a cool head and didn’t make a mistake, which was enough to win. Kerim is looking better and better on his 450 and will be a BIG factor in 2014. Ross Branch riding a 250cc 2 stroke, was able to round out the podium in 3rd. Great consistant ride from Shayne Baynham in 4th.

Tony Riddel was super-fast in the MX3 class and seems like he hasn’t lost any speed from his winning days in the early 80’s. He won the first heat, but collided with a fallen rider in heat 2 to hand the overall to Billy Flanagan. Eugine Smith was 3rd.

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