The Cannabis Energy South African National Motocross Championship exploded back into action with a double header round 2 and 3 at Thunder Valley in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday and Sunday. It proved a thrilling weekend of spectacular, muddy racing with multiple winners and a few surprises in the open classes. There was a fair bit of domination too, across the ladies and junior motocross classes.
SA champion Maddy Malan started the weekend perfectly with a double open class Moto 1 victory for Husqvarna on Saturday. He beat Yamaha man David Goosen and Cameron Durow on a KTM in the first race. Malan then took heat 2 over Goosen and Tristan Purdon’s KTM. it was a different story on Sunday however as Goosen took his chance to do the double as Purdon and Malan shared out the lower podium steps.
Kerim Fitz-Gerald took a gate-to-flag opening Saturday MX2 moto for KTM after Yamaha challenger Slade Smith crashed in pursuit. David Goosen was second on another Yamaha from KTM man Tristan Purdon. Goosen took race 2 from Smith, Fitz-Gerald and Purdon. Slade Smith then made it three winners in three 250cc MX2 races over the double-header weekend in a Yamaha 1-2 over David Goosen and Fitz-Gerald. Goosen then went five wins up for the weekend across Moto 1 and Moto 2 when he beat Smith and Tristan Purdon’s KTM in Moto 2 race 2, too.
Over-30 rider Wyatt Avis beat over-40 men Ian Topliss and Brett Bircher in Saturday’s opening MX3 masters class race. Topliss’ Yamaha took race 2 from KTM men Avis and Bircher on a pair of KTMs. Avis took both Sunday’s races as Bircher and Topliss shared out the second places.
While there were multiple winners in the open classes, it was however a different scenario in the Ladies and schoolboy classes over the weekend. Kayla Raaff once again proved unstoppable in Ladies MX as she powered to four wins out of four races on her Kawasaki. Natasha Rugani on her KTM and Husqvarna sisters Jadene and Chayenne de Lima fought over the crumbs.
Jonathan Mlimi’ was another rider to take a clean sweep of 125cc High School wins aboard his KTM. On Saturday he beat Miguel de Waal and Mark-Anthony Filip each time in a double KTM clean sweep. And on Sunday he beat Yamaha rider Christian Celliers and de Waal’s KTM in race 1, and Dylan Lloyd-Kirk and Celliers in race 2.
Kayde van Deventer’s KTM took the opening 85cc Pro Mini heat from Bryce Petersen on a Yamaha and Lucas Venter’s Husqvarna. Petersen then beat du Plooy and Venter in race 2. Nobody could stop Petersen on Sunday however, as he powered to the double. He beat Venter and Seth Young’s KTM in the first race and Wian du Plooy on a Husqvarna and Venter in the second moto.
Husqvarna kid Liam Botha was unbeaten in the 85 Junior races. Ryan Adler on another Husqvarna and Yamaha lad Tyler Petersen swapped out the seconds and thirds on Saturday. Botha continued his winning form with two more Sunday wins over Petersen, while Ryan Adler and Timo Maximo Toepfler on a KTM shared the thirds.
Neil van der Vyver dominated the 65cc class for Husqvarna. Jordan van Wyk on another Husqvarna and KTM kid Trey Cox shared out the seconds and thirds in pursuit on Saturday. On Sunday, van der Vyver beat KTM pair Cox and Blade Tilley in moto 1, before Jordan van Wyk bounced back to second over Cox in the final moto.
And last but not least in the baby 50s. Trenton Kretzman won both Saturday races on a Husqvarna. Brody Bircher and Evan Frost shared out the seconds and thirds on their KTMs. Kretzman took Sunday’s first race from Bircher and Frost. Frost then took the final from Kretzman and Bircher.
The 2020 SA Motocross championship will wrap up with another double-header in Bloemfontein over the weekend of 24 and 25 October. The South African National Motocross Championship is proudly presented and sanctioned by Motorsport South Africa in partnership with Cannabis Energy, TRP Distributors, Prepsol, Bridgestone, Thor, Gaerne, FMF, Pro Taper, 100%, Fly Racing, Ogio, Racestar Graffix and the Sunoco Race Shop.
