A challenging, but scenic route in the Free State tested competitors at the GOC National Off-road, the fifth and penultimate round of the 2014 SA National Off-road Motorcycle and Quad Championship that took place on Sunday (24 August) and while quad competitor, Brian Baragwanath (Team Rhide SA Yamaha), claimed his fifth consecutive victory, there was disappointment for Ross Branch (Brother KTM) who lost the overall lead in the motorcycle category after he crashed early during the race.
The GOC National Off-road differed from the previous four national events this season in that it was the first 180 kilometre Sprint Event whereas the first four races were Standard Events consisting of a total of 360 kilometres each. This proved to be a different ball game and the standings after the Free State race predict a nail biting final event in September.
Louwrens Mahoney (Brother KTM) claimed his third victory for the season while his team-mate (Branch) had to settle for 11th place in the OR1 Championship (he could not score any points towards the overall standings). Consistency resulted in the defending title holder and OR1 champion, Kenny Gilbert (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) to move into the overall lead after he finished second at the GOC National Off-road, 1min 37s behind Mahoney. It was a tight battle at the top with a blanket of only 2min 05s covering Gilbert and the three finishers behind him.
Tim Young (Kargo Racing Yamaha) had a problem free race to finish third overall and in OR1 (he was 1min 17s behind Gilbert) with Tyron Miller (Brother KTM) claiming his fourth OR2 victory and finishing fourth overall, a mere 21 seconds behind Young! It was a tough battle for the OR2 laurels with Jaycee Nienaber (Manhand Ridgeway Yamaha) finishing only 29 seconds behind Miller and having to settle for second place. Miller’s team-mate, Jono van Wyk, posted his best result for the season and rounded off the OR2 podium while he claimed the sixth place overall.
They were followed by another two team-mates, Juan ‘Bollie’ van Rooyen who raked in yet another Senior Class victory (he finished only seven seconds behind Van Wyk and claimed his fourth win) while Louw Schmidt secured the OR3 title by claiming his fifth OR3 win. He slotted in four seconds behind Van Rooyen resulting in only 11 seconds separating the three Brother KTM riders. The overall top ten was rounded off by Charan Moore (Kargo Racing Yamaha) who was ninth with Roan Lindsay (Manhand Ridgeway Yamaha) finishing 13 seconds behind him.
On four wheels Baragwanath led the race from start to finish to beat Enrico da Silva (Suzuki) who competed for the first time this season on national level. André du Plessis (Yamaha) experienced electrical problems during the river crossings, but rounded off the overall podium and the Q1 championship. He was followed by Bethlehem rider, David Hollis (Yamaha) who survived a tumble during the race to claim fourth place (he was also fourth in Q1). The Q2 victory and fifth place overall was a bonus for Hannes Saaijman (Team Rhide SA Yamaha) who struggled for kilometres with a broken nerf-bar and no foot peg after he hit a rock. A broken exhaust pipe added to his eventful race.
Like his brother (Enrico), Mikhial da Silva (Suzuki), also mixed up the points after finishing sixth overall at his first national outing this year. Consistency paid off for Senior Class leader, Russell Ferreira (PS Diamond Trailers Honda), who claimed his first victory this season (he finished seventh overall) to strengthen his lead in the championship. He was followed by his team-mate, Stuart Freeman (Yamaha) who lost time in a river crossing and finished second in the Senior Class with Ted Barbier (Team Rhide SA) rounding off this podium and finishing 11th overall.
The rest of the top ten consisted of Justin Robert (Sign Wonder Racing Suzuki) who was second in Q2 (ninth overall) – his team-mate, Chris Pieters (Honda) rounded off the Q2 podium after a crash while Hannes Annandale (Boesman Racing Suzuki) finished fourth in this class – with Jaco Moller (PS Extreme ATV Tzaneen Yamaha) a mere 10 seconds behind him after he experienced electrical problems.
Karl Rost (Honda) can be certain of his Silver Class Challenge title after a fourth victory.
It is all about the various class championships. In OR1 Travis Gehlig (KTM) rounded off the top five (four seconds ahead of Kawasaki rider, Dillon Inggs) while Hein Jnr van Niekerk (RAD Moto KTM) finished fifth in OR2. In OR3, Bernard McGee (McGee Yamaha Lydenburg) finished second after recovering from a broken leg earlier this season while a split second separated Taki Bogiages (Bert Smith All Stars Racing Powered by RAD KTM*) in third place from Caledon rider, Wilhelm Schoonfeldt (Helderberg Yamaha) in fourth. Ian Rall (KTM) rounded off the top five.
In the Senior Class championship, defending champion Pieter Holl (Bert Smith Racing KTM*) chased Van Rooyen and finished just over three minutes behind him (he was 15th overall) while Justin Broughton (Kawasaki) rounded off the podium after his first national appearance this year when he beat former champion, Wayne Farmer (Roost KTM EC Security) by 47 seconds. Another former Senior Class champ, Guy Henley (KTM) was fifth, 21 seconds ahead of Ian Venter (RAD Moto KTM).
Only three Master Class riders completed the GOC National Off-road with class leader, Adrian Storm (Automation Products KTM) claiming a hat trick of victories. He was followed by Willem Swiegers (Yamaha) and Jan Berning (RAD Moto KTM). There were four finishers in this class in the quad category where a tight battle and only seconds separated the podium finishers. Tony dos Santos (Factory Racing Suzuki) scored his first victory of the season when he beat his brother and team-mate, Roxy, by only 18 seconds! Peter Schenk (Team Thesens Generators Honda) was leading the class when he had a flat tyre and he had to settle for third place (22 seconds behind Roxy). Class leader, George Twigge (Yamaha) rolled his quad in the river and was glad to pick up points in fifth place.
While there were no finishers in the High School Class championship in the quad category, the battle between the young motorcycle riders continued. Eduan Bester (NUTS Racing / Century Civils Yamaha) took the overall class lead when he scored his second victory of the season while there was bad luck for class leader, Brendon Fourie (Fast Powersports Kawasaki) who had to withdraw during the first lap due to mechanical problems. Dean Lindsay (Manhand Ridgeway Yamaha) scooped up second place with Alastair Drennan (Roost KTM / ECS Security) third; Gerhard Grove (TLB Plant Hire / Alfie Cox Racing KTM) was fourth and Nicholas Mauerberger (PS Diamond Trailers Yamaha) rounded off the top five. Dion Oosthuizen (KTM) finished sixth and Gregory van Mastrigt (Honda) was seventh.
Toni Jardine (Yamaha) won the new Combined Ladies Class championship (she won the Ladies Class on two wheels) with the Ladies Quad Class winner (and only finisher), Liezel Barnard (Barnard Vervoer Can-Am) second and Taye Perry (Bert Smith Racing KTM*) third (she finished as the runner-up in the Ladies Class in the motorcycle category after surviving a few slippery moments in the river).
There was a new Silver Class Challenge winner in the motorcycle category with Johan Lubbe (Yamaha) taking his first victory ahead of class leader, Craig Wishart (PS Diamond Trailers Husqvarna) – less than a minute separated them. Craig Gregory (McGee Yamaha Lydenburg) was third; Bradley Nortje (Manhand Ridgeway Yamaha) finished fourth while Shaun Mostert (KTM) kept his runner-up positions in this class by scoring valuable points with a fifth place.
The sixth and final round of the championship will take place on 27 September in the Rysmierbult area outside Ventersdorp in the North West Province.