The 4PL.GROUP is an intergrated supply chain company specialising in end-to-end services. They are a dynamic supply chain business established to offer the Southern African and International market a comprehensive supply chain solution. 4PL.GROUP offers full bulk supply chain turnkey solutions. For more info on 4PL.GROUP go to http://www.fourpl.com/

Excellent racing at the first round of the Northern Regions MX Championship.
10 February 2015

Written by Laren van der Westhuizen.
Images by Frikkie Ströh - Action in Motion.
Published with Permission.


Photo by Frikkie Ströh - Action in Motion.

February on the Highveld often brings with it hot summer days, followed by highly charged electric storms. That is exactly what went down on the 1st round of the MSA regional champs in Gauteng. Some really hot racing during the day was interrupted at the very end by a massive storm that would end the day just two races short.
The new 3 heat race format with shorter sprint races was extremely entertaining for the crowds and made for some close and exciting racing.

The 50cc Class was a close affair with #57 James Thompson winning heat 1 and then #101 Barend DuToit coming back to win the next 2. #199 Wian du Plooy made the long trip to the event and rode to a solid 3rd. #33 Kassim Hassim from Polokwane won the 50cc Support class.

The 65cc Class was one of those affected by the storm. They got to ride 2 heats out of the 3 and both were dominated by #1 Camden Mc Lellan. #2 Jono Mlimi battled with a vastly improved #3 Hayden Tully, but Jono would utlimately win the battle. It was good to see the young 65cc riders get in on the action, like #48 Nate McLellan and #84 Leonard Du Toit.

The 85cc Class was combined with the Pro Mini Class and the likes of #151 Dalton Venter, #122 Camden Mc Lellan and #75 Calvin Jean Jacques were able to mix it with the top Pro Mini riders. They would finish in that order behind a major battle between #737 Slade Smith, #58 Cameron Durow and #21 Matthew Kruger for the Pro Mini overall. Slade was in dominant form, but a flat tyre in heat 2 cost him the overall. Cameron Durow got a 1st and 2 seconds which gave him first overall ahead of Kruger who managed to win 1 heat.

The High School Class was great to watch. In heat 1, #28 Ricky Raaf and #57 Charl van Eeden had a big tussle for half of the race. Charl managed to get past and pull away. Heat 2 was the best race of the day with #259 Joshua Mlimi and Charl Van Eerden swopping the lead 5 times on the last lap. Charl managed to win and we were all waiting for heat 3 to see the battle continue. Sadly the day had to end short with the storm and Charl had done enough to take the overall.


#108 Kerim Fitz-Gerald. Photo by Frikkie Ströh - Action in Motion.

The MX1 Class had all the big guns, but no one could catch #108 Kerim Fitz-Gerald. He won all 3 heats and left the battling for 2nd. #1 Sacha Naude had some bad starts, but used his experience and smooth style to find his way to 2nd overall. #21 David Goosen and #77 Shannon Terreblanche had some major tussles through the day, but the Factory Husqvarna rider was able to beat the Midas Husqvarna rider overall. #88 Michael Kok had bad luck with his bike and could only manage a 5th overall. An MX1B Class was introduced and was won by #222 Morne Earle.

The MX3 and Senior Support rode together and was nearly a full gate. MX3 was won by #76 Ian Topliss with Mr. Terra Topia, #111 Billy Flanagan in 2nd. There were some good battles between #40 Glen Hermon and #20 Nicolaas van der Linden for 3rd.
The support class was won by TLB Monster Energy Yamaha rider, #51 Gerhard Grove ahead of #19 Herbie Smith and #50 Kyle Barthus who is loving the 250 4 stroke.

The MX2 Class was another Kerim Fitz-Gerald show. He was truly dominant and the race once again was really for 2nd. That honour belonged to the biggest surprise of the day, #14 Jason Visser. Jason was flying on his Factory Husqvarna and managed to keep international rider #15 Stefan Ekerold and TLB Monster Energy rider #225 Reid Sinnicks behind.
The MX2B Class which was won by #131 Jordan Venter ahead of #452 Alistar Drennan who has been away from the mx track for some time. #753 Peter Thompson was a welcome return to the podium here and just beat #13 Michael Magondo.


#57 Charl van Eeden battling with #212 William Sutherland. Photo by Frikkie Ströh - Action in Motion.

The day was a great success and the format really kept the energy of the day. With the first round of the Monster Energy South African National MX Championship approaching fast, this was a good test for all the riders. Round 1 of the Nationals is in Harrismith on 28th February. Click Here for more details.

For more images from this event, supplied by Action in Motion go to:
http://actioninmotion.photofrog.co.za/gig/event/index - 355 Photos.
Facebook: Action in Motion


Photo by Frikkie Ströh - Action in Motion.

BACK / Close this Window

 


© Copyright 2011 - 2015 Motocross South Africa. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! MX SA on You Tube! Junior Motocross Academy Diamonds & Dirt: Women's Dirt Bike Club Follow us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! MX SA on You Tube! HOME