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RACE REPORT: MIDAS, RAD
MOTO, VISION RACING MX TEAM - MX NATIONAL Round 3 in PORT ELIZABETH
14 May 2013
RAD Report by Geoff Kruger
The Third round of the WOMZA, Full Throttle, Monster Energy, National
Motocross Championship event for 2013 was held at the ROVER CLUB
Circuit in Port Elizabeth. The track was awesomely prepared by David
Van den Abele and team and definitely turned out to be the toughest
event in the country. Good rain early Saturday morning made for
a bit of a mud bath in the pit area, but the track itself absorbed
the moisture well.
Thank you to all involved at the Rover Club that put in a huge effort
and I’m sure many hours of hard work to make sure this event
measured up to and surpassed previous national MX events. Thank
you to all local sponsors as well as Full Throttle and Monster Energy.
Walking the track on Sunday, we looked around and there must have
been at least 2000+ spectators lining the upper banks overlooking
the track. An awesome sight to see and synonymous with International
events!
Comments from Grant Foley (Team Manager), “I am so pleased
with the results the team has achieved. The team spirit and professionalism
is certainly one of the best in South African MX.
Our KTM race bikes have been outstanding and reliability was a massive
benefit to the team's results. Well done to Matt and James on achieving
fantastic results at PE and a huge thank you to all our sponsors
and parents for investing in our team as well as to RAD Moto KTM
for their brilliant service."
RAD Moto and Vision Racing Team Pits – National MX Round
2 – Port Elizabeth 2013
The Team Review
Grant Foley puts in a lot of effort and works really hard for the
team. When we arrived at the track on Saturday morning everything
was set up and ready to race. The team is starting to gel and there
is definitely a camaraderie developing amongst the kids and people
involved in the team. Everyone is rooting for each team rider, whether
they finish mid-pack or on the podium. Port Elizabeth was a great
event for the RAD Moto, Midas, and Vision Racing team.
- 25 James Thompson: 50 junior - 2th overall
- 6 Cameron Kruger: 65 cc - (Currently Injured)
- 92 Tristan Tredoux: Pro Mini - 7th Overall
- 4 Matthew Kruger: 85 cc - 2rd Overall
- 64 Shayne Steenkamp: 125 cc - 11th Overall
- 35 Peter Thompson: 125 cc - 9th Overall
- 25 Fernas Baptista: MX2 - 18th Overall
(Left) Grant Foley taking some time out of his hectic schedule
to “Mingle” with the Rockstar girls
(Right) From left: Peter Thompson, Tristan Tredoux and Shane Steenkamp
The 85cc Junior Class
Matthew is improving at every event and his confidence is gaining.
Matt trained hard for Port Elizabeth and it showed as he has closed
the gap on the two front runners, Seth Van den Abele and Slade Smith.
Sand specialist, Seth Van den Abele was always going to be the “man
to beat” at his home track in PE, and Matt and Smith could
ultimately not catch him, with Seth Van den Abele bringing home
a clean sweep of wins in all three heats.
Matthew qualified 3rd fastest in qualifying practice, and felt confident
in the sand.
Heat 1 saw some exciting racing with the lead changing three times
between the front runners. Matthew got an awesome start and slotted
into 2nd place behind Smith with Van den Abele in 3rd place. Van
den Abele came through quickly to pass both Matt and Smith early
in the 2nd lap, which put Matt down in 3rd. Matt stayed close to
Smith and when Van den Abele dropped the bike a lap later, Smith
took the lead with Matt in 2nd position. Smith then dropped the
bike and Matt took the lead on lap 3 with Seth Van den Abele chasing
back through the pack. On Lap 4 Van den Abele, having chased hard
back through the pack passed Matt for the lead. On Lap 5 Matt dropped
the bike and had Smith come passed him for 2nd place. Matt dropped
down to 5th place and had to chase through the pack, passing Cayle
Dormyle and Ruben Aucamp in one lap, to get back into 3rd position.
A lapse of concentration and a strong fight back from Ruben Aucamp
had Matt losing 3rd position on the line. Credit to Ruben for fighting
back. Matt placed 4th in heat 1.
Matt Kruger
Heat 2 again saw Matthew getting a great start. Matthew charged
out the gate well and wheelied the bike all the way down the start
straight, a tight inside line, the holeshot and into the lead. Matt
hung on again as long as he could before the hard charging Seth
Van den Abele came through and into the lead on lap 1. Matt battled
with Smith for a few laps until Smith dropped the bike. Matt came
home in a solid 2nd place.
Heat 3 saw Matt again get an excellent start and holeshot aboard
his RAD Moto, Vision Racing KTM 85. Matt rode solidly and smart
because on the 2nd lap Matt felt the bike start to lose power. Not
wanting the bike to seize, he nursed the bike home for a solid 2nd
place ahead of hard charging Cayle Dormeyl. Matt got 2nd overall
for the day.
Well done Matthew!
Matthew Kruger leading the pack aboard his RAD Moto, Midas, Vision
Racing KTM 85cc
Check out the ruts on day 2!
Prize Giving
(Left) Matt thanking his sponsors at prize giving
(Right) The Podium: From left Matt Kruger and Set Van den Abele
(Left) Matt with his awesome trophy
(Right) Champagne popping on the podium from left: Kerim Fitzgerald,
Grant Hutton, Richard Van Der Westhuizen, Wyatt Avis, Sebastian
Phelps, Seth Van den Abele, Matthew Kruger and Marco de Vrye
We look forward to Round 4 of the WOMZA Full Throttle MX Regional
Championships, which will be held on the 25th May at Dirt Bronco
and Round 4 of the WOMZA Full Throttle MX National Championships,
which will be held at the awesome TEZA circuit on 15th and 16th
June 2013
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 Matthew the fantastic Golden Tyres. Really
awesome tyres!
See you next year!
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