RACE REPORT: MIDAS, RAD MOTO, VISION RACING MX TEAM - GAUTENG MX Round 5 at SYRINGA
4 August 2013

RAD Report by Geoff Kruger

The 5th round of the WOMZA, Full Throttle Northern Regions Motocross Championship event was recently held at the historical SYRINGA circuit near Muldersdrift in Northern Johannesburg. I recall racing at the circuit myself as a junior, competing in the BOB-T series back in the 80’s. As we have come to expect of Jannie, the circuit was well prepared and a good challenge for all levels of rider. A big THANK YOU to Jannie and his team for a great event.

RAD Moto, Vision Racing and Midas Pits

The Team Review – MIDAS, RAD Moto and Vision Racing
Great results for the team with TWO OVERALL CLASS WINS! Well done to little James Thompson for a win overall in the 50cc junior class and well done to Matthew Kruger for a win overall in the 85cc class and a solid ride from Peter Thompson in the 125 High School class.

James Thompson #35 – 50cc juniors

Matthew Kruger came into round 5 having sustained some injuries (whiplash and concussion) the week before. During the previous week’s club race at Syringa Matthew lost control of the bike approaching the high speed step-up. As he hit the take-off of the jump he was completely side-ways and out of control and going down at high speed. Ruben Aucamp, who was following, could not avoid colliding with Matt and his bike in a mid-air. One of the worst crashes I have seen in Motocross for a while and not one any parent wants to see their child involved in, that is for sure!

Handlebars snapped clean-off, throttle cable ripped apart and the pipe smashed

Matthew lay across the middle of the track, completely unconscious for at least a minute. The medics were very professional and soon after Matt came to; they checked him and gave him the all clear to get to his feet. Thank God! Miraculously Matt was ok, other than a mild headache and dizziness he walked back to the medics tent for a once over. Blood pressure and everything was good and we were told to monitor for vomiting and disorientation. During the week Matthew was treated for whiplash and mild concussion and it was only on late Friday afternoon that he was given the all clear to race.

The 85cc Junior Class
In practice Matthew circulated and could not find the courage to jump any of the large jumps. We decided to join the Pro Mini practice too, so that Matt would have more saddle time to adjust, get his nerve back and try to get over lingering thoughts of the terrible crash he had the week before. By the end of practice Matt had managed to summons enough courage to jump the step up only once. Matt was instructed by me and the team to “take it easy”, circulate and get a few points. Above all else he was to stay on his bike!

Ruben Aucamp and Matthew Kruger await starters orders

Heat 1: Matthew started quite well considering the circumstances and slotted into 2nd place behind Slade Smith. Matt stayed on Slade Smith’s pace for a few laps, but slowed toward the middle of the heat with some back pain, but cruised home for 2nd place. Dalton Venter, who was very fast at Syringa slotted into 3rd. Aidan Maguire had one of his best rides of the season with a solid 4th place and Ruben Aucamp, also tender from the previous weeks crash, had an off-day with a 5th place.

Matthew Kruger aboard his MIDAS, RAD Moto, Vision Racing KTM 85 – courtesy of SLN-Photography

Heat 2: Matthew is making a habit of getting good starts and in this case it won him the race. Matthew shot out the gate and into the lead up the fast right hander. Matthew and the trailing pack disappeared up to the top of the circuit where everything goes quite for around 20 seconds. A lone KTM rider came flying down the old mine shaft hill and it was Matthew in 1st place with no one else in sight. A pile up at the top of the circuit left a few of the usual front runners picking themselves up and having to play catch up. Matthew, I think, was happy not to have pressure on this day and rode flawlessly to bring his MIDAS, RAD Moto, Vision Racing KTM 85 home in 1st place and 1st overall for the day.

Junior Rider of the day – Matthew Kruger / Matthew starting to feel comfortable on the top step of the podium

Bitter Rivals on the track, but just friends off the track

THE GAUTENG TEAM SELECTION

Pictured above: From left – Ruben “Roobs” Aucamp, Matt “The Machine” Kruger, Aiden Maguire, Ian Rudiger and Sebastian “Seb” Phelps. These are the Gauteng Riders selected to represent their province in the 85cc class next month in the “North vs South” interprovincial challenge.

Congratulations to all of the Gauteng Riders who are selected to compete in Bloemfontein on the 9th and 10th August 2013. We are backing the Gauteng team to “CLEAN UP” at this event and bring home all the trophies. Good Luck to team GAUTENG!

A BIG thank you to Grant Foley for his support on Saturday. It is always much appreciated.
Overall I believe that the MIDAS, RAD Moto and Vision Racing MX team represented themselves very well at the event and a BIG thank you to Dave Griffin, Nel Bosch and everyone at the RAD Moto team for your on-going valuable support. Thank you to Lood at RAD Moto’s workshop for getting the bike back together in time. Thank you to Stefan Le Roux and Ken Taylor from MIDAS and Phil Baker from Autocycle Centre for your support.

Remember: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” – Nelson Mandela

Thank you to our support sponsors below:

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