The Vryburg Race, the opening round of the 2016 SA Cross Country Motorcycle and Quad Championship and the Junior Championship, will see defending and former champions as well as aspiring title chasers battle it out on the Kalahari’s off-road tracks on April 1 and 2, a weekend where enthusiasts will be treated to racing action by cross country vehicles, motorcycles and quads.
The current entry list for the Vryburg Race is packed with names of defending SA National Champions in both the motorcycle and quad categories while the Junior Champion as well as a few young stars will also race with the ‘big boys’. It is exciting to see names of riders who have not competed at national level for a few years and those of Rallye Raid competitors on the list while all three the quad competitors who tackled the 2016 Dakar Rally, will again compete at national level this year.
In the OR1 (Open Class) motorcycle category, defending champion Kenny Gilbert has joined the Kargo Racing Team. Having recovered from an injury sustained earlier this year, he will be ready to defend his title with his new Husqvarna. The terrain will suit the Botswana rider, Ross Branch (Brother Leader Tread KTM) who will again give it his all for the title while riders like Michael Pentecost (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha), Wade Blaauw (Yamaha) and Charan Moore (Super Moose Yamaha) could throw a spanner or two in the works.
The battle between the defending OR2 (250cc) champion, Louw Schmidt and the 2015 runner-up, Jaycee Nienaber (D&H Engineering Works Yamaha) will continue while Roan Lindsay, who finished third last year and now part of the official Sherco Racing SA Team, will hope to show what he is capable of. The OR3 (200cc) Class is again a popular class and the sparks will continue to fly between the defending champion, Brett Swanepoel (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) and his closest rival from last year, Jarryd Coetzee (Brother Leader Tread KTM) while his team-mate, Jonathan van Wyk and former junior champion, Dean Lindsay (Sherco Racing SA), Darren MacLeod (D&H Engineering Works Yamaha) and Calvin Wiltshire (Droomers Yamaha) are some of the names to watch.
Juan van Rooyen (Brother Leader Tread KTM) will aim for a hat trick of Senior Championship titles and it will be interesting to see how Bruce May (Agrisales Peak Yamaha Racing), who just lost out on the national enduro championship title, will tackle the faster cross country events that require a different endurance from the riders. Former multiple national champion, Wayne Farmer (Team Doorzone Bikers Warehouse Racing) will be competing in the Master Class Championship for riders older than 46 years for the first time and the ‘youth’ might be on his side, but the 2015 winner, Ian Venter (KTM Centurion Liqui Moly Racing) will not easily let go of the title.
The High School Championship has produced some nail biting action over the last two years and with the double defending champion, Eduan Bester (KTM Centurion Liqui Moly Racing) now moving up to OR3, a few new names might upset the apple cart. A few junior riders have also entered this class including 2015 Junior Champion, Stefan van Deventer (KTM), Maarten van Jaarsveld (Doorzone Bikers Warehouse Racing) and Barend Pretorius (KTM).
The 125cc Class, the Silver Inter Provincial Challenge, the Ladies Class and the WOW Class have also received their fair share of entries.
In the quad category, Brian Baragwanath (Yamaha), who finished third in the Dakar Rally earlier this year, defending Master Class Champion, George Twigge (Yamaha), who was forced to withdraw halfway through the Dakar due to engine problems and Ted Barbier (Yamaha), who also finished the race, will all be on the start line with Baragwanath and Barbier competing in the Open Class.
Stefan Swanepoel (Yamaha) had a neck to neck battle with Baragwanath until the final race last season and will again aim for the title as will regular podium finisher, John-John Aylward (Yamaha), who has returned to the sport after not competing for the past two years.
The competition in the Open Class will be different this year as there is no Senior Class championship and riders younger than 38 all compete in the same class (Open). This means that more experienced riders like Russell Ferreira (Yamaha) and Paul dos Santos (Yamaha) who were in the Senior Class previously, will now compete with younger riders like the 2015 High School Class champion, Keenan Hammon (Yamaha) and André Park (Yamaha).
In the Master Class Championship for riders older than 38 years, Twigge will aim for a third consecutive title and while he will be familiar with some of his opposition, like the Dos Santos brothers, Tony and Roxy (Yamaha) a few new names will add to the excitement of this championship. Lady rider, Megan Stander (Suzuki) is currently the only entrant in the High School Championship as brother, Ruan, has moved to the Open Class.
The Vryburg Race, the first of three of the national series that will take place at the same venue and on the same weekend as the Donaldson Cross Country Motor Racing Championship for vehicles, will start on Friday, 1 April with a 50km time-trial to determine start positions for the race on Saturday, 2 April. On Saturday, riders will have to complete a 150km loop twice before receiving the chequered flag at the Vryburg Motor Club (VMK) on the outskirts of Vryburg.
Competitors between the ages of 13 and 16 who compete in the Senior 85cc Class in the National Junior Cross Country Championship, will race on Saturday only and more entries are expected in this class.
Race headquarters, the start/finish and the designated service park of the Vryburg Race will be at VMK. Spectators are invited to follow the action along the routes for cars, motorcycles and quads and public access to these spectator points is free.