Teza Motocross Track provided a mesmerising and stunning location for Round 5 of the MSA MX National Championships. Situated in a valley in the hillsides of KZN, near Richards Bay, Teza provides a unique world class challenge for all the riders. The track was immaculately prepared for the start of the day’s racing and fans turned out in their numbers to watch the best MX racers in the country in action!
Bar Aviation MX 50cc:
The 50cc riders were met by a tight and tricky track layout on the separate junior track. Standout performers from Round 4 Parker Cik #333 and Riley Geldenhuys #33 resumed battle in emphatic fashion! The top 2 riders were on scintillating form and absolutely dominated the day. Many riders crashed in the 2nd moto as the track got rougher under the Natal sunshine.
Geldenhuys took the first race win ahead of Cik with the pair swapping positions in the 2nd race to end the day on equal points. Ben Jacobs #506 rode to an impressive P3 in Race 1. He had an entertaining battle with Dorian Botes #84 and Luan Jordaan #20 who lead the early laps after taking the holeshot but suffered a late crash. Heat 2 saw Botes stepping onto the podium with 3rd from a significantly faster Aden Fisher #86 who capitalized on a good start to take 4th with Joshua Zion-Naude #34 in the 5th. The Overall 50cc podium was Parker Cik from Riley Geldenhuys & Dorian Botes.
MX 65cc:
The 65cc class rewarded us with the best head-to-head battle of the day as defending champion Evan Frost #1 and championship leader Trenton Kretzmann #94 tussles it out for victory all day long across both motos. Both riders exchanged positions multiple times throughout the day with the experience of Frost getting the narrow upper hand of the youthful exuberance of Kretzmann. Frost led the final stages of Heat 1 for a comfortable win ahead of a late fading Kretzmann. Heat 2 however was a different affair with the #1 shadowing the #94 all race long. It appeared as if Kretzmann had secured the upper hand and was set for victory until a last lap crash relegated him to 2nd gifting Frost another Heat win, the double on the day and most importantly crucial Championship points as the 65cc title race heats up in the 2nd half of the season. Cassie Van Zyl #234 went 3-3 from a 4-4 for Aiden Retief #42 with Ross Mackenzie #85 following with a 5-5 for the day. Deep ruts were exceptionally tough for the 65 juniors testing the wits and bike control of all the riders. The 65 Overall podium was Frost, Kretzmann & van Zyl.
MX 85cc:
The 85cc class never disappoints when it comes to entertainment and this time out Ashton Martin #7 was the young man who found the best flow around Teza Motocross Track. He took the lead in Heat 1 as soon as the gate dropped and never let it go despite the best efforts of championship leader of Christian Berrington-Smith #141 who challenged early on but dropped back to 4th at the flag. Two outstanding performances from Aiden Henley #51 and Blake Frost #29 took them to 2nd and 3rd place in this ultra-competitive class. Ronald Graven #24 finished 5th place at the flag. Martin had to dig deep to win Heat 2 after Berrington-Smith saved his energy in the race to put on admirable last lap charge. He closed down seconds on the race leader in the last 2 laps but came just short at the flag while racing with an injured right knee. Blake Frost completed a great day for the Frost brothers by taking another excellent 3rd place. Henley got tangled up with other riders at the start and found himself dead last on lap 1. He fought hard and dragged himself back up to 4th place after clinically working his way through the 85cc field. Blade Tilley #125 took 5th place which is closer to where we’re used to seeing him after a difficult race 1. The Overall 85cc podium featured Martin, Berrington-Smith & Henley.
MX Highschool:
Luke Grundy #1 did what Luke Grundy has been doing all season and once again ruled the roost with another double win on his KTM. The Red Bull KTM teenage sensation had his work cut out with rookie Jordan Van Wyk #747 pushing him all the way to the chequered flag missing out by under a second. Van Wyk had taken the holeshot and led the moto until Grundy caught and passed him with only a few laps remaining. Bryce Petersen #12 continued his impressively constant season with 3rd place ahead of a hard charging Trey Cox #37 who returned from an injury at Round 1 with 4th place. Blake Young #44 was running in the podium spots but a late puncture and flat tyre dropped him down the field. VLA Racing’s Matthew Correia #200 had one of his better rides of the season taking 5th place. Heat 2 featured a much stronger start from Grundy and he pulled away early creating a large gap to 2nd which he managed to the flag. Petersen finished 2nd with Cox pleased to take 3rd after fighting his way from the bottom of the top 10 to the podium. Van Wyk took 4th place ahead of Blake Young and Tristan Durow #444. The MX Highschool Overall podium was Grundy, Petersen & Van Wyk.
MX1:
Championship Leader Cameron Durow #58 picked up from where he left off at Round 4. He romped away to another double win as he marches relentlessly towards his first MX1 National Championship. Race 1 saw Red Bull KTM Team Manager and multiple national champion Kerim Fitz-Gerald #108 in 2nd place as he made a welcome return to racing in MSA MX National Championship racing. Jayden Proctor #81 found some of the magic form he’s been looking for on his CRF450R and fought his way through the pack to a stunning 3rd place in Race 1. Dirco van der Westhuizen #100 took 4th on his Yamaha ahead of a returning Michael Docherty sporting the number #129 on the front of his bike this season. Proctor stepped it up a notch to take 2nd in Heat 2 fighting off the challenge of a resurgent Joshua Mlimi #411 who found his mojo riding his Husqvarna FC450 up onto the podium in P3. Jesse Wright #14 recovered from a lap 1 tangle with Fitz-Gerald for 4th place with his teammate van der Westhuizen suffering technical problems that ruled him out of contention. The MX1 Overall podium was Cam Durow, Jayden Proctor and Fitz-Gerald.
MX2:
Stav Orland #265 started his day perfectly with an outstanding holeshot in Heat 1 taking the lead from the #1 of Cameron Durow. The young Ugandan came out the blocks firing in the early laps pulling away from the defending MX2 champion. Durow bided his time and reaped the rewards of this when a mistake from Orland resulted in a crash which put Durow in the driving seat for the rest of race. Out of Africa Monster Energy Yamaha’s Dalton Venter #151 rode a very clean race to finish 2nd place with Orland recovering from his crash to score another podium in 3rd. Jayden Proctor #81 did not get the start he was looking for but flew through the pack to finish 4th with incredible pace from start to finish. Husqvarna’s Michael Docherty #129 finished 5th followed up by KTM’s Jonathan Mlimi #259. Mark Carty #24 and Davin Cocker #87 were also in contention for top 5 positions but were left on the wrong side of the top 10 after crashes during the race. Durow seemed to get better as the day went on and took a comfortable victory in Heat 2 completing a perfect day for the KTM man who is preparing for a trip to the USA in August. Orland learned from Heat 1’s mistakes and took 2nd place. Proctor continued to impress with his 3rd podium of the day taking a well-earned 3rd place. Venter was unable to match his race 1 start which left him with too much ground to cover for a podium place as he finished 4th. Docherty was 5th again this time ahead of Cocker in 6th. The MX2 Overall podium featured Durow, Orland & Venter.
Bar Aviation MX3:
KTM’s Anthony Raynard #23 looked to have another clean run to a double win, however
it was not a straightforward run to victory for the Capetonian. He went unchallenged for a comfortable victory in Heat 1 ahead of Royce Griffin #141 with Jonathan Du Plooy #15 completing the podium with Sheldon Watkins #757 in a lonely 4th place. Heat 2 saw Raynard taking the holeshot, but a crash early in the race promoted Griffin and his YZ250 into the lead. Raynard using all his MX National experience decided to stalk Griffin for a couple of laps before picking his moment to retake the lead which he held onto until the chequered flag. 2nd-4th place was the same as race 1 and the finishing order of each race being identical to that of the overall results.
Bar Aviation MX Ladies:
Multiple MSA MX National Ladies Champion Kayla Raaff #1 was back at her
best aboard her Kawasaki. Speaking to Raaff she explained to us how challenging the Teza track was for the riders but this didn’t stop her from securing another double win. Leah Heygate #176 challenged Raaff early in Heat 1 but a crash dropped her down to 3rd place. Heygate tried her level best but could not find her way through on a very impressive Cheyenne de Lima #484 who took her Yamaha to P2. Heygate was 3rd ahead of the ever-improving Botha #128 who took 4th place on her Husqvarna TC125. Heygate did well to take 2nd place in Heat 2 ahead of de Lima and Botha as Raaff took another comfortable race win. The Ladies Overall podium was Raaff, Heygate & de Lima
MX Support:
Round 5 for the MX Support class starred
an uncharacteristically small field with three starters at the gate. Keegan Du Plooy #94 emerged strongest among them taking a double win on the day. Veteran racer and MSA MX Nationals legend Quentin Foster #51 went 2-2 for 2nd overall on his GasGas. Shayne Steenkamp #64 who started both races well was unable to maintain that pace throughout the races took a pair of 3rd places and 3rd overall.
Another memorable round of the MSA MX National Championships is under our built and without a doubt all involved enjoyed this one to the max! Round 6 & 7 will take place at the Rover Motorcycle Club track in the beautiful Gqeberha region of the Eastern Cape. This will of course be an action-packed double header weekend over the 15th and 16th of July.
Published on behalf of the MSA MX Commission by Themba Khumalo
Photography by: The Blacksheep
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