The ‘Mother City’, Cape Town, played host to the second round of the National Motocross championship that was held at the Zone 7 Motocross track this past weekend. Red Bull KTM brought their impressive rider line-up to the start gates, securing a number of podium finishes this time around.
The most exciting class of the day proved to be the 85 Pro Mini class with Red Bull KTM’s Camden McLellan shining with confidence and speed on board his KTM 85 SX. Although being one of the smaller riders in this highly competitive class, McLellan got the hole shot and led early, but got passed by Camden Durow later in the race. McLellan kept on charging, but the race distance was not long enough for the talented youngster to catch up and he finished less than a second behind Durow in the first heat.
Heat two then saw an equally exciting battle between the two riders with McLellan taking the hole shot once again. Durow managed to pass, but McLellan kept on charging and won the second heat in convincing style, building his confidence for the remainder of the season. With a 2-1 finish McLellan secured a first place overall, taking victory for the first time this year.
The 85 Junior class saw the two main contenders, Christian Cilliers and Red Bull KTM’s Jonathan Mlimi, out of action due to injury. This has left the class wide open for the championship and made for some more exciting racing on the day. Red Bull KTM’s Nathan McLellan had a fantastic day at Zone 7, finishing third in both heats for a third place overall, rounding off the 85 Junior podium on the day.
In the MX Ladies class, Zambian Leah Heygate showed some good speed and great starts with the Red Bull KTM rider securing two second places on board her KTM 250 SX-F, resulting in finishing the MX Ladies class on the third step of the podium for the day. With the championship moving to more hard pack tracks going forward this lady should be able to showcase even more of her talent going forward.
Reigning MX1 champion Kerim Fitz-Gerald didn’t have luck on his side in Cape Town getting off the MX2 start gate and the Red Bull KTM rider had to settle for a 4-4 finish in the MX 2 class on the day, still holding on to second place in the championship.
Joshua Mlimi, Rookie of the class, got his best result in the MX2 season to date. With a 5-6 finish for fifth place overall he is sitting in sixth place in the championship. Being more comfortable on the hardpack tracks, Mlimi will continue to impress during the remainder of the season and 2016 should see the talented youngster climb the MX2 rankings.
Kerim Fitz-Gerald had a better start in the MX1 class and lead for most of the first heat until he crashed after hitting a rock and had to get back on and charge from the back of the field. The experienced rider still managed to catch up to fourth place and with a third place in the second MX1 heat, Fitz-Gerald secured a fourth place overall for the day. Determined to fight for the championship, Fitz-Gerald is looking forward to the next round of the championship.
The National Motocross season will move inland for the third round of the championship to be held in Bloemfontein on 28 May