JUNIOR OFF-ROAD CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT MVOTI BARKBUSTER
author: Elza Thiart
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Dustin Ledwick
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In the Senior Open Quad Class Dustin Ledwick (Factory Racing KTM) won the battle, but a fourth place was enough for Matthew Barnard (Team Sabcool KTM) to win the war and take the Number One plate for the season. Another victory was not on the cards for Nicky Lombard (CDV Racing Suzuki) who raced without a clutch and he had to settle for second place after a battle with Jaco Moller (PS Storm Racing Suzuki) who finished third with blistered hands.
Tinus Bredenkamp (CDV Racing Can-Am), who went to the race with a chance to claim the title, finished fifth, 33 seconds behind Barnard. Jamie Fensham (Team Can-Am) was sixth while Lady Luck again turned her back on Dino do Amaral who had to settle for seventh place after a wheel hub of his Factory Racing KTM stripped. Neil Potgieter (Suzuki) was eighth; Elanie van den Berg (PS Storm Racing Kawasaki) finished ninth – she also won the Ladies Quad Class, but a second place for Elrica Herbst (Boesman Racing Yamaha) was enough to clinch this title for the season – while Rorke Millar (Factory Racing Can-Am) posted the tenth fastest time.
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Wade Young
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In the Senior (250cc) Motorcycle Class, Wade Young (Fever Criterion Yamaha) had already won the championship, but rounded off his season with a sixth victory with Michael Pentacost (Perry Yamaha) playing second fiddle to him again. Andrew Wren (Xtreme Yamaha Support) was fourth resulting in Pentacost finishing the season second behind Young. Robin Hudson (Offroad Cycles Yamaha) was third with Roan Lindsay (Gemini Pro Action KTM) rounding off the top five, only 27 seconds behind Wren.
Regular 125cc competitor, Nicolai Conci (DGI Honda), competed for the first time this season in the 250cc class and finished sixth (43 seconds behind Lindsay) beating Gerald Campher (Miller Moore KTM) by 20 seconds. Karel Hattingh (Guma Sports Yamaha) was eighth; Brandon Youell (Kargo Racing KTM) finished ninth and Ruan Smith (Sandstorm Racing Shimwells Yamaha) rounded off the top ten.
The 125cc Motorcycle Class title already belonged to Young’s team-mate, Blake Gutzeit and he confirmed it with a fifth victory, but it was an extremely close-fought battle as a mere 4.062 seconds separated him from Travis Teasdale (Yamaha Support). Tristan Edmunds (Yamaha) competed in only his second national event this season (he won this class at his debut at Hluhluwe) and finished third with Brett Swanepoel (Team Joat Yamaha) fourth. The rest finished a lap behind with Fever Criterion Yamaha’s Damien Scott fifth.
Also in the top ten was Shannon Rawlins (Yamaha) who finished sixth; Byron McNeil (The Roost KTM) who was seventh; Gerhard Grove (KTM) who finished eighth; Corbin Lamb (Fox Racing Shimwells Yamaha) and Cameron Becker (Yamaha Support) who completed the top ten.
The bad luck hit the newly crowned Senior 85cc Motorcycle Class champion, Angus Coetzee (Fox Racing Shimwells Yamaha) who had to settle for 11th place due to mechanical problems after winning all previous six events. Jason Helm (Honda) took the victory and was followed by Cullim Symmons (Suzuki) who competed for the second time this season in the national series. Dylan McGovern (Fever Criterion Yamaha) ensured his second place for the season in the class by finishing third, 23 seconds ahead of Duncan de Beer (Full Throttle Yamaha) while Wesley Liversage (Honda), for who this was also only his second national event, was fifth.
BJ Scholtz (Honda) finished sixth, 22 seconds behind Liversage; Dylan Barker (Yamaha Support) was seventh; David Matthews (Fever Criterion Yamaha) finished eighth; Regardt van Nieuwenhuizen (KTM) was ninth and Aeron Thompson (Kargo Racing KTM) rounded off the top ten.
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Bradley Cox
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In the junior category of the series, motocross ace Bradley Cox (Comsol Alfie Cox Racing KTM), son of the off-road racing legend, Alfie Cox, cleaned up the Junior 85cc Class beating Brendon Fourie (Jaag Spinnekop Junior Racing Yamaha) by just over 17 minutes. Fourie has however won the title for the season. Calvin Hume (Fox Racing Shimwells Yamaha) took the final step on the podium with Keagan Coetzee (The Roost KTM) fourth and Travis Behrens (Yamaha), who tackled a national off-road race for the first time, fifth. Rory Lutz (Yamaha) was sixth with podium regular, Dean Lindsay (Kawasaki) experiencing some problems and finishing seventh.
The 65cc Motorcycle Class podium was an all KZN KTM affair with Tristan Asher-wood winning; Matthew Green second and Kayde Mante third. KZN’s Sam Stevenson (Comsol Alfie Cox KTM Racing) finished fourth while the season’s class winner, Erik Merry (KTM) was fifth; Stefan van Deventer (KTM) finished sixth and Maarten van Jaarsveld (Kawasaki) was the last finisher.
On four wheels Brandon Darlow (Boesman Racing Yamaha) claimed his fourth consecutive victory in the Junior Modified Quad Class beating the newly crowned champ, Pandelis Kafaltis (FD Racing Arctic Cat) by 27 seconds after a tight battle. This time Lady Luck smiled upon Morné Fourie (CDV Racing Arctic Cat) after his problems and efforts at the previous event and his third place was his fourth podium position for the season. Wilru Pienaar (Boesman Racing Suzuki) was fourth and Hein van Gessellen (PS Storm Racing Suzuki) fifth. Christopher Petersen (Yamaha) lost time due to a broken shock, but finished sixth whle Shaun Smith (Honda) was two laps behind in seventh place.
It was a first victory for Jade Schutte (Yamaha) who won the Junior Open Quad Class when he beat FD Racing’s Kenan Kotze (Yamaha) and Amanda du Plessis also on a Yamaha. Kotze has won this class for the season.
Photographs by: Janine Smith
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