Race Report: The MSA S.A.
MX National Final - Round 6: Syringa
29 October 2014
Copyright Motocross South Africa (MX SA)
Written by Laren van der Westhuizen
Pictures courtesy Rich Sutherland Photography.
Unauthorised use of this content is prohibited.
The final round of the MSA national championship happened
at Syringa on a track that resembled the legendary track of
the 70's and 80's. Although the championships were tight,
the mood was relaxed and somewhat calm after a long hard season.
The 50cc class results was a true refection of the
top 3 riders in the country and strangely, only 1 of them
was from SA. That was 3rd placed rider, Nate McLellan. Swazi
rider, Blake Young was 2nd and the unstoppable Zimbabwean,
Daiyaan Manuel was 1st. Noticeable performances from Tyler
Tarantino in 4th, James Thompson in 5th and Nathan Bester
in 6th.
The 50 junior class, saw another Swazi rider in the
mix as Seth Young took the win ahead of Jordon Van Wyk and
Brandon Burley.
The 65cc class was a 2 horse race, between already
crowned champion, Camden McLellan and Jono Mlimi. Jono capitalized
on rare mistakes from Camden to take the win. Camden's 2nd
was was overshadowed by the joy of winning the season. Christiaan
Cilliers has been on form of late, but just couldn't catch
the 2 front runners and had to settle for 3rd.
The 85cc class saw Slade Smith run into mechanical
issues in heat 1 and drop back to 3rd. This handed an easy
win to Cameron Durow, who is on fire at the moment. The most
improved rider of 2014, Slade Botha, was 2nd in heat 1. in
heat 2, Slade Smith went out and won. Cam Durow was 2nd and
Slade Botha rode well for 3rd. Cayle Dormehl was out with
a broken collar bone and was sadly missed in this 3 way battle.
Slade Smith came out in the pro-mini race and really
showed he is a man for the future. He had a ding dong tussle
with Janes Van Sandwyk for 2nd. He would get the better of
Janes, but only after some great passes in heat 2. They couldn't
catch the pocket rocket, Justin Thompson, who dominated both
heats.
#54 Sacha Naude (picture courtesy Rich Sutherland Photography)
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The 125 class is just crazy to watch. These guys give
us hope for the future of SA motocross. Joshua Mlimi stepped
up a gear and won both heats, but all eyes were on Charl Van
Eeden who charged through the field in heat 2 after hitting
the gate. He managed to get 2nd and won the applause of the
crowd. Marco Ras had a great ride to finish 3rd ahead of Dirco
Van Der Westhuizen who made a welcome return to the sport
after a long injury layoff. Justin Thompson climbed off his
pro-mini and finished 5th in the 125 class.
The MX2 class was a tight battle between Kerim Fitzgerald
and Sacha Naude. Kerim was leading heat 1, when his bike seized.
It seemed like his championship was over, but with throw-aways,
he still had a 1 point lead. Whilst this was all going on,
Jesse Wright quietly rode a great race to win. Sacha Naude
struggled for rhythm in heat 1, but managed a 2nd which was
great for the championship. Michael Kok was 3rd. In heat 2,
Jesse Wright made his way to the front riding on first heat
confidence. The big focus was on 3rd, where Sacha Naude was
holding off Kerim Fitzgerald. It was half way through lap
1, that Sacha went down and could not finish. That meant that
Kerim just had to finish to win. A big battle went on for
2nd between Nicholas Adams and Michael Kok. Michael passed
Nicholas on the last lap and as he did that, Jesse Wright
pulled to the side of the track with a broken sprocket. What
drama. Michael Kok won the heat and the day.
#108 Kerim Fitz-Gerald (picture courtesy Rich Sutherland
Photography)
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The MX1 class was a 3 way battle. In heat 1, Michael
Kok won from Sacha Naude and Kerim Fitzgerald. In heat 2,
Kerim came out firing and Michael Kok just could not find
a way past. Kerim won from Michael and Sacha back in 3rd.
The MX3 class was won by Wayne Smith who looked right
at home on his old track. Greg Aspinall was 2nd and Darryle
Fitzgerald was 3rd. All 3 riders were on the gas and did not
seem like vets out there.
The support class was won by KZN rider, Mason Buist.
He was chased home by 2 girls who are some of the best lady
riders in the country, namely Nanda Swiegers in 2nd and Toni
Jardine in 3rd. Andre Potgieter is showing great improvement
with a solid 4th.
The season ended with some great racing and with new sponsors
and promoters for 2015, we are in for a great season.
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