Husqvarna Racing’s gamble to field Michael Docherty in their National Cross County line-up certainly paid off this weekend at round 4 held in Zorgvliet.
Docherty who is more renowned for his prowess in Rally and Motorcross had a “baptism of fire” at the last round held in Vryburg but dispelled any doubt that it was not just bad luck that kept him off the podium by not only claiming a podium but grabbing the top step with the overall victory.
Docherty said, “I had a pretty good day but it was definitely one of the hardest races I’ve done, especially finishing those last two laps, it was brutal.” He added that he had a lot of fun out there and had to use all his energy to get through the last lap to claim the win. “I’m really happy with the outcome” he mused.
Teammate Brett Swanepoel went into the round leading the championship. “I had a pretty good time trial setting me up to start in third where I battled it out with Kerim Fitz-Gerald for the first couple of laps,” said Swanepoel afterwards. He went on to say “The track really got rough towards the end and it was brutal on the body, I really had to dig deep and use technique to ride smart.”
Swanepoel’s effort secured him the first position in the OR2 class as well as second overall extending his championship lead going into the last two rounds.
On to the next round where we will see how the rest of the cards will unfold in Porterville.
