The Koue Bokkeveld 400, the fifth and penultimate round of the 2016 SA National Cross Country Motorcycle and Quad Championship that takes place on Friday (26 August) and Saturday (27 August) at the Koue Bokkeveld in the Western Cape, will level the playing field and be a good test for all competitors, local as well as those visiting from all over the country.
A few national competitors will remember the KB400 since the previous two nationals held in the area in 2009 and 2010, but although they might remember the type of terrain and beautiful scenery, the routes are mostly new. The SACC KB400 will consist of a short 45km loop and a long loop of about 80km with an unassisted refuel point about 45 kilometres into the long loop. A section of one of the loops will be used for the time-trial on Friday to determine the starting order for Saturday and the organisers, the Western Cape Off-road Club, will decide closer to the time which loop to use as the weather and a few other factors will play a role in the decision.
The SACC KB400 will be combined with the Western Cape Regional Championships with the regional championship also competing on Sunday. Regional competitors who are competing in the SACC national series, will therefore compete on all three days. On Saturday the long loop will take competitors passed local villages with the unassisted refuel, where no vehicles and crews will be allowed, at Op Die Berg. Competitors will encounter the same type of hard-pack terrain on both loops and good farm roads on a total of 16 farms, form part of the routes. The area just came out of one of the worst droughts in many years with the dry rivers now running due to recent good rains.
The farming community of the Koue Bokkeveld, known as one of the biggest apple producing areas in the country, has been supporting the races in their area for many years and are welcoming the visitors with their generous hospitality. The riders, their teams and supporters can look forward to real country style catering during the whole weekend with all the funds in aid of the local Koue Bokkeveld Primary School.
“We are really looking forward to host a round of the national championship in the Koue Bokkeveld in the Western Cape,” Clive Crouse from the Western Cape Off-road Club and former SA National Quad Champion said. “The KB400 has become one of those events riders remember afterwards and we hope they will again enjoy this year’s event. We are grateful to the local community who has again made their farms available for us to use and they are also looking forward to welcome the visitors from as far as Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and the rest of South Africa to their area,” Crouse said.
Race control as well as the start and the finish of the event, the central service point and the prize-giving function will be at Donkerbos, about 60 kilometres north of Ceres, in the Koue Bokkeveld