Round three of the South African National Enduro championship was held at Bulwer in KwaZulu-Natal this past weekend and competitors were looking to add valuable points towards their respective championships. Riders had to complete five laps of a 38 km loop that included a 1.4km very tight MX test which was raced from lap one, a 2.5 km Extreme test and a 7 km Enduro test which were both timed from lap two.
Organisers had put a lot of effort into setting the course which made for some exciting racing. Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Travis Teasdale battled to get into a rhythm racing the MX special, but enjoyed the remainder of the special tests. This cost the talented Pietermaritzburg youngster the win and he had to settle for second place, only a few seconds off first placed Wade Young. Teasdale, leading the E2 championship, had opted for the newly launched 2017 KTM 300 XC-W and had this to say:
“Jumping onto the new 2017 bike was amazing! It really handled well and seeing that we didn’t have much time getting it set up I felt comfortable straight away and had a good race, not making too many mistakes. I’m happy to bring home good points towards the championship and look forward to some more close racing for the remainder of the year”, said Teasdale.
In the E2 class Dwayne Kleynhans came prepared and was looking forward to another podium finish onboard his KTM 250 XC-F. He didn’t disappoint when he brought home a second place finish with only 6 seconds separating him from his rival Brett Swanepoel.
“I had a great day leading the E1 class for the majority of the day. Unfortunately, on lap three I crunched my finger on a pole in the MX special and from there it was really hard for me to ride 100%. I am happy to still take second place in E1 and won the WFO regional class. My KTM 250 XC-F was amazing and I was very happy with my riding. I will work on a few things for the next round to come back even stronger.”, said a determined Kleynhans.
Kleynhans’ team mate, Scott Bouverie, finished the E1 class in fourth place, adding valuable points towards the championship.
Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Kirsten Landman had yet another great day onboard her KTM Freeride 250 R, finishing the Silver class in second place. The talented lady rider is still leading the Silver class.
The team is now looking forward to make a guest appearance at the Red Bull Braveman event in Windhoek, Namibia, on 3 September before they head to Swinburne in the Free State for a double header National championship on 11 and 12 September.