TOUGH RACE IN THE BOTSWANA DESERT AWAITS NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY BIKE AND QUAD COMPETITORS

The TDR has always been a popular event and the 2017 event has received a healthy amount of entries in both the motorcycle and the quad categories. The end results will be even more interesting due to the fact that so many points are at stake and riders who have not participated at national level this year, might just take some of those points away from title chasers.

The race will also form the fourth and fifth rounds of the Botswana Motorsport National Off-road Championship while it will also serve as the TDR 1000 Invitation Race.

A few Botswana riders in the motorcycle and quad categories of the SACC Moto will aim for maximum points and to make their home crowd proud. In the motorcycle category, two Botswana riders are in the top five in the OR1 (Open) championship with Ross Branch (Brother Leader Tread KTM) leading and Dartagnan Lobjoit (Yamaha) in fourth place. Another Botswana rider, Vincent Crosbie (Yamaha), has not competed in the national series this year, but he will be locking horns with them in OR1 and will use his Dakar Rally experience to the full in his home country.

Second placed in OR1, Tim Young (Sherco Liqui Moly Racing) has competed in the TDR before, but it will be the motocross champ, Tristan Purdon’s (Bidvest Blu Cru Yamaha Racing) first stint in this desert and he would not like to give up his current third place in OR1. Ruan Potgieter (KTM) is fourth and will feel the pressure from seasoned TDR riders like Kenny Gilbert (Husqvarna) and Louw Schmidt (Brother Leader Tread KTM) who would like to use their desert racing experience to make up for not scoring points at the season opener.

While the bigger OR1 bikes are ideal for the sandy conditions, competitors in the OR2 (250cc) championship will add to their pressure. Brett Swanepoel (Pepson Plastics Husqvarna Racing) will aim for a hat trick of victories in OR2 to extend his lead, but he might just have to look out for Louwrens Mahoney (Brother Leader Tread KTM) who is a desert race specialist and he would like nothing better than an outright victory. Marius Venter (KTM) and Jaycee Nienaber (Super Moose Racing KTM), who are both on the same amount of points behind Swanepoel, will also be chasing hard as will Ruan Smith (KTM Centurion Liqui Moly Racing) and Cameron Becker (Q-KON EMD Basefit Racing KTM) who are on the same wicket, only a few points behind the three riders ahead of them.

The same three riders have shared the OR3 (200cc) podium this year with Kyle Flanagan (Bidvest Blu Cru Yamaha Racing) leading after taking both wins. Second placed Wilhelm Schönfeldt (BCR Arrow Yamaha Racing) can make the best of the fact that his arch rival, Jarryd Coetzee (Brother Leader Tread KTM), who shared the second step of the podium with him, will not be competing due to a niggling knee injury, but Ian Rall (KTM) and Charan Moore (Live Lesotho Yamaha) will have the podium in their sights.

It will be a tough challenge for the young riders in the High School championship where the defending champion, Stefan van Deventer (Bidvest Blu Cru Yamaha Racing) will also not only aim for his third victory this season, but to win again in the  Botswana desert. Podium sitters Juan-Pierre de Villiers (KTM) and Maarten van Jaarsveld (Doorzone Bikers Warehouse Husqvarna) will do their utmost to stop him as will Ryan Pelser (KTM) and Nardus Rabe (Sherco Liqui Moly Racing) and while it might be about finishing and scoring points for many riders, it will be about the title for these riders.

Competitors in the Senior and Master championships might have more years of racing experience, but it might be just as tough for them as for the youngsters. The multiple Senior champion, Juan ‘Bollie’ van Rooyen (Brother Leader Tread KTM) looks unstoppable this year, but despite winning twice, he is only a few points ahead of Bruce Viljoen (Doorzone Bikers Warehouse Husqvarna). The Rally Raid specialist, Hentie Hanekom (Husqvarna), is third and might enjoy the longer and tougher race as will the 2017 Dakar Challenge winner, Willem du Toit (Husqvarna). Du Toit might not be aiming for the title, but will use the event as practise for his participation in the 2018 Dakar Rally as will Ryan Bland (KTM) competing in the SACC Moto for the first time this season.
Bruce May (Bidvest Blu Cru Yamaha Racing) is fourth in the championship standings and always aims for a good result.
The title battle in the Master Class will continue between the championship leader, Pieter Holl (KTM) and the defending champion, Wayne Farmer (Doorzone Bikers Warehouse Husqvarna) while third placed Justin Broughton (Sherco Liqui Moly Racing) as well as Faan van Deventer (Yamaha) are also in the mix. Fitness, perseverance and determination will play an important role in the outcome of the results.

In the quad category, quite a few riders who have not competed in the SACC Moto so far this season, will travel to Botswana to tackle the desert and their participation can upset the applecart. The desert has, however, a reputation to be quite mean and unpredictable and an unexpected outcome is also on the cards.

The defending champion, Hannes Saaijman (Q-KON EMD Basefit VLS) will aim for a second victory this season and to extend his lead in the Open Quad championship, but reliability will be the name of the game. Pierre van Heerden (Honda) can cement his second place – or even better it – as two riders behind him in the standings, will not be racing. The desert conditions could suite the Can-Am Side-by-Side vehicle of Werner Mostert who is fifth as well as the other bigger SxS vehicles who are competing in this class.

Riders like Stef Bester (VANS Racing Division Yamaha); Ruan Stander (GVS Racing Vryburg Yamaha) and Nico du Rand (Polaris) can also move up in the rankings if they score consistently at the TDR.

Riders who do not have points yet, but who can finish between the frontrunners include the former champion, Stefan Swanepoel (Yamaha); Gideon Jacobs (KTM) who won in Botswana last year; Keenan Hammon (Yamaha) and Hamish Horrell (Yamaha), the adventurist who ran 400km through India and paddled from Mozambique to Madagascar and competed in the Amageza Rallye in 2016 with the aim of competing in the Dakar Rally in 2018.

The 2017 TDR will consist of a 45km time-trial on Friday (23 June) that will determine the starting order for Friday. On Saturday (24 June), riders will take on a 210 kilometre loop which full distance competitors (OR1, OR2, OR3, Seniors and High School in the bike category and Open quads) will have to complete twice to score points towards the third round of the SACC Moto while they will have to do another 210km loop on Sunday (25 June) for points in the fourth round. After the weekend, full distance competitors will have had raced a total distance of 885 kilometres.

All the action will take place from the Jwaneng Sport Complex where the Start/Finish as well as the central service and refuel point will be.