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www.doitnow.co.za • 1
inGEAR: Words & Photos by Zygmund Brodalka
Full ThrottleMX NationalsRound 5 East London - ride it like you stole it
A good friend of mine, Marc Doornbos,
and I headed to East London for the
fifth round of the MX Nationals
and the penultimate round of the
SA Motocross Championship, which
commenced on 11 August. I really enjoy
travelling by car to these events as the journey itself
is always an adventure, and of course there is the
ultimate reward: a weekend of fantastic racing, braaing,
talking shop, and meeting old and new friends.
Dirco van der Westhuizen
2 • DO IT NOW DIGITAL | August 2012_#8
This trip did not disappoint. En route from Cape Town we had the
unexpected pleasure of passing beautiful snow capped mountains and
white Christmacy-looking trees all the way from Swellendam to Mossel
Bay - what a treat! As I haven’t been in this neck of the woods for many
years, it was also amazing to see how much these places have developed
and grown, and the once sleepy coastal towns I knew back then are
definitely not that sleepy anymore. With so much to see and discuss on
the way, we missed the turn off to Grahamstown, via Port Alfred, and
almost found ourselves in Craddock. Luckily we realised that the N2 was
becoming awfully quiet and stopped to get some directions from a cattle
farmer. After an 1,100 km stint we finally made our way into East London,
but the saga was not over yet. Road works saw us getting lost once more
and caused a further two-hour delay. Tip: always add an extra two hours
travel time for those unexpected delays. We arrived at the Border MX track
just before dark and pitched our tent on the softest grass imaginable.
The weather was superb so we ended up having an awesome braai, and
chatted about the riders, the history of the track and its very capable
owner, Luch Hannan, before dragging ourselves off to bed. This is what
the good life is all about!
Border MX is one of the older MX clubs in South Africa, boasting a 42-year
legacy. Even though it has been around for a long time, the track is one the
newer ones and a pleasure to ride on from a racer's perspective because
it’s an easy sweeping ride. This track also has a long and proud record
of successfully hosting the MX Nationals, which is famous for the rowdy
crowds and party people it attracts in their thousands. Although it’s not
the biggest jump track, with only one major step down in front of the pits,
it became famous when two BADBOY Honda teammates, Ross Branch
from Botswana and Merik Sprag, collided in mid-air in 2009. This resulted
in one of the biggest crashes witnessed in South Africa, but luckily no one
was seriously injured.
Race day started at the crack of dawn on Saturday for us as we headed
out to check on the track, which had been well prepared, as we knew it
would be. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day and perfect for racing, but
unfortunately this was not to last. By late afternoon the track
had been transformed into a windy dust bowl, which led
to the eventual cancellation of the 2nd Moto’s for all
but the 50 cc classes.
www.doitnow.co.za • 3
4 • DO IT NOW DIGITAL | August 2012_#8
Kerim Fitzgerald
Kerim Fitzgerald
www.doitnow.co.za • 5
The track is split into two sections: the section from the starting
gates to the first half of the track is high-paced pinned one,
while the second section consists of whoops and loads of tight
turns, with a massive step down and some bowl turns that are
mostly hard-packed, with occasional sandy bits. Even with a
little bit of everything thrown in to challenge the riders, there
was no holding back and such was the intensity of the racing
that the track ended up as a two lane race due to rutting. This
resulted in even more spectacular racing, with lots of spectator
appeal.
The kiddies track is one of the tighter tracks on the circuit,
with some bowl turns and a lovely little whoop section. These
youngsters hit those whoops with no fear, even if the feet are
all over the show. This is great preparation for their future as
the whoops only get bigger. The first heat of the 50 cc class
was one of the best of the day when Camden McLellan shot
out of the gates to get to the holeshot first, with a hot pack of
riders chomping at his heels. Looking comfortable in the lead,
Camden made a mistake and went down, leaving championship
leader, Justin Sangster, to take the lead, with Jonothan Mlimi
right behind. During a last lap attack, Jonothan made a sneaky
pass and snatched glory from Justin Sangster, who looked to
comfortably consolidate his championship title. Camden came
back to claim a well deserved third place. The 2nd Moto didn't
go as well for Jonothan, who came in fifth position. Overall
positions for the day were: Camden in first after his win in the
2nd Moto, Justin in second (but still leading the championship
with one round to go), and Jonothan in third.
The 65 cc class saw 'pocket rocket' Cam Durow, from
KZN, claim his customary holeshot and race win. He
was chased down by Slade Smith, who has just made
a return to national MX after a serious injury, to take
second place. Dalton Venter came back from a bad start
to finish third on the podium. Strong performances from
Wikus van Sandwyk and Grant Hutton saw them round
out the top five.
Riders in the 85cc class never cease to impress me
with their incredible talents and no-fear approach. It was
a battle from start to finish, with Janes van Sandwyk
showing great form from the start and taking the lead
for some time. He eventually gave up his lead to the
relentless Marcus Phelps, who has been campaigning
in the UK this season and shown what a world-class
rider he is. Bevin Potgieter really impressed on the hard-
packed sections to claw his way back from a poor start
and finish in second. Justin Thompson also performed
well to take third place. Although the Pro Mini class had small numbers, there
was no shortage of pace. Local boy Tristan Purdon battled
it out with his teammate Dirco van der Westhuizen in the
early part of the race, however, Tristan's track knowledge
and home town advantage saw him cross the line in the
1st Moto some 18 seconds ahead of Dirco. Joshua Mlimi
was handed third place after Jason Visser's bike came to
a standstill at the last step up with just three laps to go.
Mark Baxter
6 • DO IT NOW DIGITAL | August 2012_#8
Buy ONEIssuEONLINENOW
Brendon Fleming
Reid Sinnicks
Loydd Vercuill
Justin Mittens
Richie van der Westhuizen
Brendon Fleming
www.doitnow.co.za • 7
The 125 cc class saw championship-favourite Justin Mittens
start slightly slower than he would have liked, but he finished
really strongly to take the top podium position. His main rival,
Jesse Wright, who has been really consistent this year, had to
settle for second, with holeshot king, Reid Sinnicks, in third.
Strong performances also came from Marco Ras and Tristan
Cuthbert, who came fourth and fifth respectively. Justin's win
puts him at the top of the leader board and he now goes
into finals of the 2012 championship with a home town
advantage. But it's not a done deal for Justin just yet, as
there is still Maddy Malan and Zane Farquharson who were
even faster at Teza, so we can expect some epic battles from
these lads in the finals.
The MX2 class was a four-way battle between championship
hopefuls Kerim Fitzgerald, Anthony Raynard, Richard van der
Westhuizen and Wyatt Avis. Kerim used his USA experience
to get around Anthony and Richie and open up about a three-
second lead. Three falls meant that Wyatt had to keep fighting
his way back into contention, which he did with aplomb to
secure a fourth place, and he also set the fastest lap time
on track by over a second. Richie made an uncharacteristic
mistake while chasing down Anthony, which allowed Wyatt to
slip into third. After a hard-fought race, Kerim won with about
a 4 or 5 second gap. The two PS Honda boys gave it their
all, all the way to the line, but in the end it was Raynard who
managed to hold on and finish second, with Wyatt in third
and Richie in fourth. So with Team PS Honda once again
sharing the podium with Kerim's Red Bull KTM, the last time
being at the Cape Town Nationals, the excitement of racing
just doesn't get better than this and I can't wait to see what
will happen at the finals. One thing I do know for sure, it's
gonna be a nail-biting affair!
In the MX3 class, aka the Veterans and Masters class, the
40-something-year-old Wayne Smith showed that he was no
push over against the 'younger' vets and crossed the line in
first place to win the heat. Despite Roger-Dean Bergstrom's
best efforts to get up and race Wayne, he had to settle for
second in the heat, but clinched first in the Masters class. Ian
Topliss was second in the Vets, ahead of Craig Kruger. Geoff
Den was second in the Masters ahead of Rod Bergstrom. It
was great to see Alec Combrink from Cape Town back on
the track after recovering from a serious ankle injury and then
racing Mototard for a few years - welcome back Alex!
The MX1 class saw Richard van der Westhuizen
come out and make amends for his performance in
the MX2 heat by dominating from start to finish, while
Wyatt Avis had to pull out due to a bad fall in the MX2
event. A slow start saw Kerim Fitzgerald having to
fight his way back into the lead pack, to finish second
ahead of Michael Kok, who looked a little out of sorts
and later said that he felt slow and tried to override to
compensate. Mention must be made of Royce Griffen
who held onto second place despite taking some time
off from MX racing. If he works on his fitness, I think
that he is going to be a real threat to this class at his
home track in PE.
Once again it was an awesome day of racing - despite
the weather - and one that was filled with thrills and
spills, and racing of the highest calibre as riders battled
it out for the coveted red NR1 plate and 'Masters of
Terra Firma' titles. Special thanks to the Reid family
for their assistance in helping me get to East London.
Now it is with bated breath that we wait for the
sixth and final round of the WOMZA Full Throttle MX
Nationals at Rover MX Club, in PE, on 22 September,
and the crowning of our Champions!
Till next time keep it pinned! •
èRelated articles:• Hometown Showdown at MX Nationals (Issue #18, p. 86)• Sizzling Action at WOMZA Full Throttle MX Nationals
(Issue #17, p. 76)
Brendon Fleming
Richie van der Westhuizen