Race Report: CTMX Round 2 at Melkbos
17 March 2014

Published with Permission
Submitted by CTMX

Some brilliant performances where delivered at round 2 of the CTMX club championship on Saturday 8 March at the Melkbos MX track. Before we venture into the details of the racing, it must be stated that there is some amazing talent coming through in almost all of the classes. CTMX is the second largest participating region in the WOMZA national series and with round 2 taking place in their back yard, some surprises are bound to pop up. Chad Pheiffer a fitness trainer, has joined forces with local coach Dean Hoffman, who has been working hard with a number of contenders.

In the 50cc junior class Liam Lambert made his intentions known by dominating the racing lines and running very respectable times. He did not make it onto the podium though as bike failure tackled him in heat 2. First was Neil Van der Vyver, second went to Liam Lambert, and in third place it was little Reinier Van der Merwe. Newcomer, Tristan Wilhelm bravely took on the boys in his first ever full race.

In the 50cc Pro senior class, John Henri Vaughan has found some form and ran some very good times around the circuit. With a good starting technique he may very well be able to pull one back at his home track in a months time. He will need to spend as much time as possible in the thick sand. In second spot and somewhat off the pace, it was Hennie Roux and third was Krige Van der Merwe. Just behind him was Kyle Bremer, who is showing some great potential and we can’t wait to see him in the 65cc class – he has a brilliant riding style and is sure to be a front runner next year.

It is always exciting to watch the battle between Ethan Coleman and Ike Klaassen. There is less than a second between these two on any good day, but Saturday went to Klaassen, who was determined to prove that he could run with Coleman who got third spot at the National. In third place was Calum Marriott who must now start working on jumping if he is to challenge the class leaders.

In the 85cc class, Justin Sangster was on a mission and spared no effort in destroying the rest of the field. He rode aggressively and demonstrated great resolve in setting new track records. Chris Erasmus came in second and Max Ledgerwood took third.

In heat 1 of the Pro mini class, there was a titanic battle between Justin Sangster and Chad Homan. Only one second per lap separated these two and Sangster made a classic pass on Homan in the penultimate lap. He could not make it stick though and Homan snuck past on the outside in the next corner. Homan won the heat by less than a second. Homan unfortunately had to retire with bike problems, so first place went to Justin Sangster, second to Jason Du Toit and third to Homan.

Justin Sangster clears the big table top jump at Melkbos

Cape Town has an amazing crop of 125cc riders. There was a ding dong battle between Matt Van Galen and Conor Fletcher for first and second place and yet another between Luke Du Toit and Bradley Sullivan for third and fourth. Matt won heat 1 but put it down twice in heat 2. Overall, Fletcher first, Van Galen second and Du Toit third. Bradley Sullivan was less than a second behind Du Toit and is showing huge pace and determination.

Bradley Sullivan, 72, gave Luke Du Toit, 101, a run for his money in the 125cc class

In stream 1(a) it was Anthony Raynard who cleaned up. Second was Dylan Stokes, who put the bike down a few times so he going to have to work on his consistency ahead of the National. Third was Kevin Cassie who is riding so well of late. In stream 1(b) the top slot went to Brian Carstens, second to Gavin Smith and third to Carl Mohr, who is showing improvement by the week. In stream 2 there was some exciting racing again, with very close racing both up front and down the field. Byrone Billings ended on top of the box, with second place going to Haydon Wood and third went to Mark Guy.

Kevin Cassie is in fine form and ready to take on the MX 2 riders at the Cape Town national in April

The next race is on 5 April, which is also round 2 of the Coastal Challenge where the PE and EL guys descend upon Cape Town for a competition of note.

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