An all new event on the 2015 TOTPAK National Off-road Championship, the Mooi River National Off-road that will take place on Saturday, 25 April, in the Mooi River area in KwaZulu-Natal, will not only introduce the national tour to this area for the first time in more than 15 years, but it will level the playing field for all competitors who will tackle the third round of the season in the Midlands Meander.
Since 2000, national off-road competitors raced in the Hluhluwe, Empangeni, Richmond, Wartburg and Vryheid areas and the Mooi River National Off-road, organised by the experienced Natal Off-road Motor Club (NORMC) will be an all-new national event for most competitors. This will level the playing field at a stage where the TOTPAK National Off-road Championship is reaching the halfway mark with four events remaining after the KZN race.
With two rounds now something of the past, competitors have got accustomed to the new structure where a 60 kilometre time-trial early on raceday, determine the starting order for the second racing section that starts at 10:30. This new structure demands precise preparation from the competitors – mechanical problems during the time-trial can mean the end of the race or a starting position way down the field – while the results can be influenced by their level of fitness as well as the service they receive from their crews in the pits.
Having a look at the current standings, it is important to keep in mind that the best six of the seven events will count towards the championship standings. This means that a rider can ‘throw away’ a race that he could not finish.
The OR3 (200cc) Championship in the motorcycle category had everyone talking as it produced spectacular racing as the biggest class in the series. It might be the enduro rider, Brett Swanepoel’s (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) first national off-road season, but he has showed that he is not afraid of speed and leads the class after two consecutive victories. Brother Leader Tread KTM team-mates, Jarryd Coetzee (he finished as the runner-up twice) and Jonathan van Wyk round off the podium with the rest of the riders not too far behind and all capable of podium results.
Bernard McGee (McGee Yamaha Lydenburg); Taki Bogiages (Bert Smith All Stars Racing Powered by RAD KTM*) and enduro rider, Brandon Warwick-Oliver (Liquorland Racing Yamaha) started the season on a high note, but could not finish the recent Swaziland event and would like to make up for lost points.
A victory each for Botswana’s Ross Branch (Brother Leader Tread KTM) and Michael Pentecost (Kargo Racing Yamaha) and another set of great results, put them at the front of the OR1 (Open) Championship while consistent results put Jonathan Webster (Yamaha) currently third. Former champion, Kenneth Gilbert (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) and the defending OR1 champion, Louwrens Mahoney (Branch’s team-mate) will see their one DNF (Did Not Finish) each as their throw-away and they will be under pressure to post good results after each of the remaining races.
A tight battle has already heated up in OR2 (250cc) where Jaycee Nienaber (D&H Engineering Works Yamaha) leads Nicholas Pienaar (Ridgeway Racing Husqvarna), who won in Swaziland, by only one point. There is a small gap to the rest of the field with Nienaber’s team-mate, Roan Lindsay, in third place and aiming for another podium result (he was third in Swaziland) while the 2014 Silver Class Challenge winner, Shaun Mostert (KTM) is close on his heels. Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Louw Schmidt, who was leading after the first event, and the defending OR2 champion, Tyron Miller, have both had bad luck in Swaziland and will not only feel the pressure, but will both go for gold in KZN.
Having a look at the quad category, most of the action is happening in the Q1 Class where the defending champion, Brian Baragwanath (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) and Stefan Swanepoel (Yamaha) are separated by two points – Swanepoel is leading – after a victory each. The rest will have to keep these two on a short leash if they want to keep an eye on them. Jaco Moller (Extreme ATV Tzaneen Yamaha) is third with André Park (Yamaha) fourth and Damien Lee (Honda), whose mechanical problems caused him to call it a day in Swaziland, fifth.
At the end of the season only one national champion will emerge from the Q1 and Q2 classes being combined. Q2 is however struggling with numbers while the class leader, Justin Robert (Sign Wonder Racing Honda) is out of action after injuries sustained in Swaziland while Gideon Jacobs (Honda) has started each race well, but mechanical issues have resulted in him having not scored any points to date.
After two victories in the Senior Quad Class Championship, it looks like Stuart Freeman (Yamaha) is ruling this class and if Paul dos Santos (Factory Racing Suzuki), who finished second at the first event, can work on the reliability of his Suzuki, he might be able to stop him.
In the motorcycle category, the battle is on between the three riders who finished on the podium in the same positions after both previous events – the defending champion, Bollie van Rooyen (Brother Leader Tread KTM) claimed two victories with former champion, Wayne Farmer (Roost KTM EC Security KTM) second and Kobus Jonck (Bert Smith Racing KTM) third.
The Master Class Championships in both categories have seen different winners after the first two events and some interesting battles are brewing between the riders all older than 46 years of age. On two wheels, former champion, Martin Poole (Yamaha) has taken the lead and will be chased by the winner of the first event, Ian Venter (KTM Centurion Liqui Moly Racing) and Wade Miller (KTM) who are both only two points behind while motocross racer, Geoff Den (Suzuki) is third.
Two podium positions have also put another former Master Class Champion, Milton Thesen (Thesens Generators Yamaha) in the lead in the quads, but a victory in Swaziland after a bad result at the season opener, will make Tony dos Santos (Paul’s brother and team-mate) hungry for more and the two points’ difference can quickly change. George Michaelides is third while the defending champion, George Twigge (Yamaha) is fourth after mechanical problems stopped him in his tracks in Swaziland. George Geldenhuys (Abacus DIVISIONS Can-Am) can upset the applecart as he did not compete in the first race, but finished second in Swaziland.
In the High School Championships, the current motorcycle champion, Eduan Bester (KTM Centurion Liqui Moly Racing) and Brendon Fourie (Kawasaki) are continueing their battle from last year with Bester leading Fourie by two points while Dean Lindsay (D&H Engineering Works Yamaha) is third.
Ryno Trichardt (Yamaha) took the lead on four wheels after a victory in Swaziland, but runner-up Keenan Hammon (KTM), who won the first event, will fight back after he lost points when he ran out of fuel in Swaziland. Ruan Stander (Yamaha) is currently third.
There has been a change in the Combined Ladies Class Championship where scholar Wilmari Moller (Extreme ATV Tzaneen Honda) took the lead (she is also leading the Ladies Quad Class) ahead of another young lady, Jade Schutte (Yamaha) who is second in the Ladies Quad Class. The defending champion, Liezel Barnard (Barnard Vervoer Can-Am) will have to chase these girls from her third place while the motorcycle ladies will play catch-up. Barnard’s team-mate, Taye Perry, won this class in Swaziland, but could not score points at the first event and shares the fourth place with Barnard while Shakira Vawda (KTM) – she shares the lead in the Ladies Bike Class with Perry – and Karen Geldenhuys (Abacus DIVISION Can-Am) have both only competed in one event and they will feel the pressure for the rest of the season.
In the Silver Class Championships, Gerhard Grove (Yamaha) leads Nicholas Mauerberger (Barnard Vervoer Yamaha) in this tough class while TJ dos Santos leads the quads.
The Mooi River National Off-road will consist of two 60 kilometre loops. Motorcycle and quad riders will tackle the time-trial between 7:30 and 8:00 and their results will determine the starting order for the race that will start at 10:30.