REVIEW : ‘RYSMIERBULT JUNIOR NATIONAL’
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2nd Round of the 2013 Junior National Off-road Championship
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25 May 2013 : Ventersdorp / Carltonville area (North West)
ONLY SECONDS BETWEEN OFF-ROAD COMPETITORS AT ‘RYSMIERBULT JUNIOR NATIONAL’
The competition between young off-road competitors at the ‘Rysmierbult Junior National’, the second round of the 2013 Junior National Championship held on Saturday (25 May) in the Ventersdorp/Carltonville area in North West, was extremely tough and most riders were eventually separated by only a second or two on the final results. Off-road motorcycle and quad competitors between the ages of seven and 17 travelled from the corners of South Africa and were tested at a dry and dusty race.
It was especially in the Open Motorcycle Class for riders between 15 and 17 years where the action reached boiling point. Motorcycle competitors started in rows of four and Travis Teasdale (Husaberg Alfie Cox Racing Portable Shade TLD Plant Hire) had to line-up on the 10th row (37th bike) due to him not scoring a result at the previous race. The dust and the amount of competitors he had to pass did not get the Pietermaritzburg rider down and he eventually won the class by a mere second from class leader, Kokstad’s Damien Scott (Criterion Yamaha Portable Shade) who crashed during the last of the six laps.
Only 15 seconds separated the podium finishers with third-placed Mauritz Meiring (McGee Yamaha) scoring his first ever podium position in only his second attempt in the Junior National Championship. The rest were somewhat further behind with Jason Jones (KTM) finishing fourth and the Cape’s Eamonn Sullivan (Yamaha) rounding off the top five. Tyler Robins (Yamaha) was less than a minute behind Jones with Ceegan Loubsher (Diamond Trailers Racing KTM), who has recovered from a broken wrist, also not too far behind in seventh place.
The rest of the top 10 consisted of Matatiele’s Henco Botha (Pa Ma Racing Kawasaki) in eighth place followed by the two Gauteng riders, Ruan Merry (Nuts Racing Verotest Husqvarna) ninth and Craig Wishart (Diamond Trailers Racing KTM) 10th. Kyle Flannagan (Criterion Yamaha / Portable Shade) showed determination, but had to settle for last place (he was second at the season opener) after he pushed his bike to the finish of the third of six 31km loops when it seized up.
It was not only in the Open Class where a few seconds made the difference in the final standings. After a ding-dong battle lasting just over three hours, Criterion Yamaha Portable Shade team-mates in the 125cc Motorcycle Class, Angus Coetzee and Dylan Barker were separated by a mere nine seconds with the Port Elizabeth rider (Coetzee) taking the victory this time. It was an all-Cape podium with Cape Town’s Aeron Thompson (Kargo Racing KTM) finishing behind the two Eastern Cape riders. Thompson had a few minutes on his team-mate, Dylan McGovern with Coetzee’s team-mate, Alex O’Donnell, rounding off the top five – just seven seconds behind McGovern.
Chayse Orsmond (Husaberg Alfie Cox Racing) finished sixth with Cullim Symons (Ekerold Yamaha / Central Waste / Flowe-Pac Yamaha) pushing his bike to the finish for a seventh place after breaking down on the last lap. Ladybrand’s Reghardt van Nieuwenhuizen (KTM) was eighth with the Gauteng riders, Ross Blackwell (Kargo Racing KTM) and Emil Moerman (KTM) rounding off the top ten. There was more bad luck for Corbin Lamb (Husqvarna Racing) who had to settle for 11th place after experiencing rear brake problems.
The close racing action continued in the Senior 85cc Motorcycle Class for riders between 13 and 15 years of age. In the end Dean Lindsay (Manhand Shimwells Yamaha) took his second victory of the season when he beat Daniël van Zyl (Alfie Cox Racing KTM) by 57 seconds. The current junior champion, Tristin Asher-Wood (KTM) was only 11 seconds slower in third place. Only one minute and eight seconds covered the three front runners. RichardBay’s Calvin Hume (Fast Power Sports Kawasaki) finished fourth and the Cape’s Christopher Renwick (Suzuki) rounded off the top five.
Eight competitors managed to complete the 31km lap five times in the allotted three hours with Tristan White (KTM) finishing sixth; Adriano Catalano (Suzuki) seventh and Eduan Bester (Nuts Racing / Century Civils / Diamond Trailers KTM) eighth.
Competitors in the junior category raced for two hours on a testing 17 kilometre track with Pa Ma Racing team-mates from Matatiele, David Odendaal (KTM) and Noah Maartens (KTM) winning the Junior 85cc and 65cc Motorcycle Classes respectively. It was Maartens’ second class victory this season with his new team-mate, Shaun Wallis (KTM) finishing as the runner-up.
Once again only a few seconds made the difference between winning and finishing as the runner-up with the Junior Roof winner of the Junior 85cc Class, Kayde Mante (KTM) having to settle for second place behind Odendaal by a mere 50 seconds. The Margate rider (Mante) was sandwiched between two Pa Ma Racing team-mates with Stefan van Deventer (Yamaha) finishing just 13 seconds behind him in this class that is characterised by tough competition between riders from eight to 12 years.
Eric Mclean (Carlton Fridgelec KTM) finished not too far behind them in fourth place. Matthew Green (Kargo Racing KTM) rounded off the top five. Seven riders managed to complete six laps with Ryan Pelser (KTM) again scoring points in his first Junior National season (he was sixth) while Welkom’s Maarten van Jaarsveld (Yamaha) was seventh.
Berné Bester (Nuts Racing / Century Civils / Diamond Trailers Racing Suzuki) took his second victory in the Open Quad Class and was followed by Johan Venter (Diamond Trailers Racing Yamaha) and Jordan Levendale (KTM) in third place. Janco Joubert (Evolution Racing Honda) won the junior quad category from Jade Schutte (Perry Yamaha) while Wilmarie Moller (Extreme ATV Tzaneen Suzuki) was first in the Senior Ladies Quad Class.
The 2013 Junior National Championship will reach the halfway mark with the third of the five rounds that will take place on 17 August in the Port Elizabeth area.
