Race Report: Gauteng MX Rd 1 - Terra Topia
05 February 2014

Published with Permission
Submitted by Laren van der Westhuizen

2014 has crept up on us and round 1 of the Gauteng regionals is already under the belt.
155 riders turned up to show their metal and test their off-season training program. We are also on the door step of the MX nationals and riders used this race as an opportunity to measure up against the pack.

The racing was great and the main thing that stood out was being able to see who had done pre season training and who had taken a well earned break. The track was really muddy in practice, but dried out nicely and left perfect conditions for racing. The track also had 1 or 2 new things in place. The change to the start worked well and make for a safer turn 1.

The 50 juniors was a small class, but the racing up front was good. Luke Borchers held off the charging pack, but Aeron Wecke kept him in check.

The 50 pro class saw Tyler Tarantino surprise a few people. he has worked hard with his team in the off season an holeshotted heat 1. He lead till half way, when Nate McLellan passed him. Nate showed good speed and will be a candidate for the national champs.

The 65cc class was one of the biggest on the day. Camden McLellan was in dominant form and was around 2 secs a lap quicker than the rest. Jono Mlimi rode in a lonely 2nd, but a battle for 3rd between Hayden Tully and Christiaan Cilliers ensued. Christiaan was fast and had some of the fastest times, but couldn't stay on the bike and had to settle for 4th overall behind Tully, who showed true grit to fight hard on the day.

The 85cc junior class was a little small, but watching Dalton venter is like watching poetry. he was fast and checked out from the rest. An enthralling battle for 2nd happened between Kargo racing entry, Mathew Green, Calvin Jean Jacques and a vastly improved Cam Durow. Mat Green held on for 2nd and Cam 3rd. Calvin showed good speed on the new Kawasaki, but needs to get used to it still.

The pro-mini class was a mix and match. Marco DeVrye won heat 1 convincingly, but couldn't seem to get going in heat 2. The pocket rocket, Justin Thompson had a tough heat 1, but came back to win heat 2. Marco did enough to win overall. Thompson finished 2nd ahead of Dalton Venter and a hard charging Mathew Kruger.

The 125 class was one of the biggest on the day. The starts and turn one was carnage. The lived up to their name of Kamikaze pilots. Sorren Munks was a surprise winner of heat 1. he has worked hard in the off season and it has paid off. The big gunners chased him, but to no avail. Unfortunately, he crashed at the start of heat 2, but still received Raceworx KTM rider of the day. The winning in heat 2 went to Josh Mlimi, who fought from 5th. He also then won overall. Jason Visser had a tough day on his new Husqvarna, but ground out a 2nd overall. Tristan Cuthbert was fast, but lacked some fitness and could only manage 3rd. Tristan is focussing on speed for his trip to the UK and no doubt will be fit come time to leave.

The MX2 and MX2B was a BIG class. KZN rider, Maddy Malan came and absolutely conquered. He won both heats convincingly. He had some resistance in heat 1 from Jesse Wright on his new KTM. Jesse managed 2nd overall, ahead of another team KTM rider, Travis Teasedale. Wesley Duplooy had bad starts and could only manage a 4th as the reigning champ.
The MX2B class was won by Jason visser ahead of Sean Morland and Janneman Potgieter.

The MX3 class was mixed with the MX1 and had to ride hard to keep up. Greg Aspinal rode well for his new KTM team and won the Masters. he will go for that title this year for sure. Jason Jackman recently got married and rewarded himself with a win in the vets class.

The MX1's was a stacked class. All the way to last was talent. None more so than Michael Docherty who is training hard to go back to the states. Riding for Fast Rockstar Kawasaki, he rode like a man possessed to win both heats. He even came from a crash in heat 1 to win. Michael Kok showed good form on his Yamaha to finish 2nd ahead of a little rusty Kerim Fitzgerald. No doubt Kerim will be on top form for the national. Sacha Naude seemed to struggle with setup on his new Yamaha, but showed good fight in heat 2, showing he has the pace. It was also nice to see David Goosen mixing it with them on his new Husqvarna.

The Support class was big as always. Steven Carr won the class. The ladies were in there as well. Amy Sawyer won lead ahead of Anais Steenkamp and Thuli Radebe.

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