MXSA RACE REPORT: MIDAS, RAD MOTO, VISION RACING MX TEAM - GAUTENG MX Round 3 at CAPRICORN RACING CLUB

RACE REPORT: MIDAS, RAD MOTO, VISION RACING MX TEAM - GAUTENG MX Round 3 at CAPRICORN RACING CLUB
23 April 2013

RAD Report by Geoff Kruger

We woke up at 4am and travelled north for the 3rd round of the WOMZA, Full Throttle Regional Motocross Championship event up in POLOKWANE. Two and a half hours later we arrived in Polokwane and had breakfast at the ultra-city.
As always the POLOKWANIANS are great hosts and a there was a fantastic turn out of riders and spectators at the event. We do suggest that before the next event that a track inspection is carried out before the event to ensure that all issues with regard to track safety are dealt with before the event and not on the day. A few big crashes did spoil an otherwise great day. Our well wishes and thoughts go to those riders who were injured and a big GET WELL SOON to Zane Farquarson!
We would like to thank the team at Capricorn for a well prepared track, a well organised event as well as reacting quickly to deal with parts of the track which were a safety concern.

RAD Moto and Vision Racing Team Pits – Regional MX Round 3 – Polokwane 2013

The Team Review
Polokwane is the first regional event where we got to test the new team structure and Grant did an excellent job of setting up and management on the day. Well done Grant !
- 25 James Thompson 50 junior 4th Overall
- 6 Cameron Kruger 65 cc (Currently Injured)
- 92 Tristan Tredoux Pro Mini Bike Problems
- 4 Matthew Kruger 85 cc 4rd Overall
- 4 Matthew Kruger Pro Mini 5th Overall
- 64 Shayne Steenkamp 125 cc 14th Overall
- 35 Peter Thompson 125 cc 10th Overall
- 25 Fernas Baptista MX2 8th Overall

Well done to the riders!

The 85cc Junior Class
The results did not show it, but Matthew rode really well at Polokwane and was unlucky not to get his first heat win of the season in the 85cc class. Matt has been off the bike since we left Cape Town and we knew it would take a few heats for him to get the hang of things - coming straight from training in sand for 4 weeks and adjusting quickly to the fast hard pack track at Polokwane. As we entered both 85cc and Pro Mini’s he would have plenty of track time to get used to the conditions and hopefully pick up some speed. This is exactly what happened and Matt took 2 practice session and two heats before he started to get the hang of things and learn the track. Once Matt got comfortable and the track got rough, he was very fast.
Heat 1 saw Matthew getting a great start from the inside. He lost a few positions from the tight inside line and came through in 4th. His pace was poor in this 1st heat and Matt set about learning the track and gradually adjusting and building up speed. Matt finished in 4th in heat 1.

Heat 2 saw Matt having adjusted to the track and feeling more comfortable get an awesome start and hold on to the lead through the first corner, followed closely by Slade Smith, Ruben Aucamp and Reegan Wasmuth. Matthew looked comfortable and started to pull away. Going into the third lap, a lapse in concentration at the wrong time and he slipped out in the fast right hander and dropped the bike! Very unfortunate as Matt looked good for a heat win. Matt picked up the bike and rode solid for a 4th in the 2nd Heat and 4th for the day.

Pro Mini
Heat 1 saw Matthew gaining in confidence and he had a great jump out of the gate which put him in around 3rd place through the first corner with some 17 bikes jostling for position down the fast right hander and over the table top. This section of the track was scary and a few spills occurred over the fast table top.

Matthew hung on against the larger 105cc and 150cc big wheel machines as long as he could, but unfortunately got passed by Marco de Vrye, Justin Thompson and Dylan Mostert.
Matt came home in a good 6th place in heat 1
Heat 2 was late in the day and the track had started to get rough. Matt was confident in his starts and knew he could be in the top three off the gate. He charged out the gate well and went through the 1st corner next to Marcus Phelps and into 2nd position, followed by Thompson.

Marcus Phelps, followed by Matt Kruger and Justin Thompson

Considering most the bikes are 105cc or 150 cc machines Matt did well. Again Marco de Vrye and Justin Thompson caught and passed Matt with their superior powered machines. Matthew then had to deal with Dylan Mostert for a few laps on his 150cc 4-stroke machine. Dylan made the move midway through the race and passed Matt for 4th position. A great battle ensued between 6th placed Ruben Aucamp and 5th placed Matt Kruger. For two laps the boys played “cat and mouse” and clean, hard racing was the order of the day. In the fray Matt managed to get back passed Dylan after he made a mistake and up into 4th place. Matt rode hard and finished in a very respectable 4th place in heat 2 and a 5th overall in this very competitive class. And he did it on a stock 85cc machine. Well done Matt!

We look forward to Round 3 of the WOMZA Full Throttle Monster Energy MX National Championships, which will be held on the 4 & 5th May in Port Elizabeth.

A BIG thank you to Grant Foley for his support over the weekend. It is much appreciated.
Overall I believe that the RAD Moto and Vision Racing MX team represented themselves very well at the event and a BIG thank you to Dave Griffin, Nel Bosch and everyone at the RAD Moto team for your on-going valuable support. Thank you to Stefan Le Roux and Ken Taylor from MIDAS and Phil Baker from Autocycle Centre for sponsoring us the fantastic Golden Tyres. Really awesome hard pack tyres.

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