Race Report: The MSA S.A. National MX Championship - Round 2: Zone 7
23 April 2014

Published with Permission
Submitted by Laren van der Westhuizen.
Images courtesy Brodalka Photography.

It's been a while since MSA has hosted a round of the motocross nationals in Cape town, so it was great when everybody heard round 2 would be at the ever popular Zone 7 track in Cape Town.
The track is a really fun track to ride with big air jumps, really loamy soil and even some sand sections. It also has an awesome clubhouse and viewing deck that was pumping full of people all day as the racing went on.

Images courtesy Brodalka Photography.

The day started out with the 50cc class and they got to ride 70% of the 50cc track and 30% of the senior track which they enjoyed. The class was dominated by internationals, as Zimbabwean Daiyaan Manuel won overall from Swaziland rider, Blake Young. Nate McLellan was fast but bad starts once again kept him off top spot. Cape Town rider, Hennie Roux was 4th ahead of a strong ride from Tyla Tarantino.
The 50cc support class was also won by a Zimbabwean, Lee Chigumba, from another Swazi, Seth Young and then local man Neil Van Der Vyver.

The 65cc class saw Jono Mlimi and Camden McLellan swop places in the 2 heats. Jono won heat 1 courtesy of a Camden McLellan fall on the last lap, but Camden bounced back to win heat 2 convincingly. Local man, Ike Klaassen was a solid 3rd and is looking in great form. Another Zimbabwean was 4th, Tristan Grainger.

The 85cc junior class started with a disaster. Favourite for the day, Dalton Venter was carted off the track with a serious leg break. We wish him well in his recovery. This left the door open for KZN rider, Cayle Dormehl who holeshotted both heats and held off a hard charging Slade Smith for the win. Cameron Durow was fastest in qualifying, but mistakes kept him on the bottom step of the podium.

The MX2 class was a really full gate and produced some great racing. Kerim Fitzgerald and Anthony Raynard both had heat wins but Kerim came out on top with a win in the 2nd heat. Kerim has struggled with form so far this season, but some training with his brother Darryl has helped him back where he belongs. Ross Branch was 3rd on his Brother KTM, ahead of the Full Throttle Yamaha rider, Sacha Naude. A bad day in the saddle for TLB Plant, Alfie Cox entrant, Brad Fenton, who could only manage 5th.

The pro-mini class was small, but still provided the crowd with some high flying action. Justin Thompson won both heats and looked great ahead of his USA trip. KZN's Janes Van Sandwyk was 2nd and will be looking forward to his home national which is next. Marco DeVrye battled with his bike, but still managed 3rd.

Images courtesy Brodalka Photography.

The 125 highschool class was great to watch. These teenagers hold nothing back and Jason Visser, Dirco Van Der Westhuizen and Joshua Mlimi went bar to bar. Dirco won heat 1, but could only manage a 3rd in heat 2. Fortunately this was enough to win, as Jason Visser hit the gate in heat 1 and could only come back to 4th. Joshua Mlimi was 2nd and 3rd for 3rd overall and is looking good for a win soon. Charl Van Eeden was 4th.

The MX3 class was a great race between Wayne Smith and Jan Ryan. Wayne has been off the bike for a while, but proved why he has more SA titles than anyone with 2 strong wins. Jan pushed him hard on his home track, but had to settle for 2nd. Greg Aspinal looked more comfortable with his KTM and followed them home in 3rd.

The MX1 class was also a mixed bag of results. Sacha Naude did enough to win overall, but only a few points separated the top 5. Kerim Fitzgerald was 2nd and Michael Kok 3rd. Ross Branch seemed to battle for rhythm on his KTM, but was happy with 4th. Royce Griffin was hoping for a podium, but just like Ross, couldn't seem to gel with the track and had to ride out a lonely 5th place.

Round 3 heads to another track that hasn't seen a national for a while, Springfield in Durban. This track has both sand and hardpack and will be a great transition from the sand of Cape Town to the hard pack which will be for the rest of the series.

BACK / Close this Window