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| Travis Teasdale |
THE past weekend saw Kamberg hosting the last rounds of the 2013 SA
Junior National Off-road Championship for young off-road motorcycle competitors
— all between the ages of seven and 17 years.
It was the first time that South Africa’s young off-road riders
competed for two consecutive days to complete the final rounds. Competition in
each class was extremely tough as riders who have scored points at each of the
five events could get rid of their worst set of points in the “Drop Points”
system. Sunday also saw the last staging of a junior national off-road series,
as no clubs have tendered to take part in this championship next year.
Correspondent Elza Thiart-Botes (who also took all the photos) reassured that the end of the
championship does not mean that new riders will now stop moving through the
ranks.
She said that parents could not transport the young riders all over
the country for the national championships, but the regional junior
championships still shows healthy numbers, while a High Shool category for
riders between 14 and 17 years will make space for talented young riders to hone
their skills in national off-road and enduro races.
Organised by the South Coast Cadets, the race also formed two
rounds of Regional Harescramble Championship for the South Coast club.
Rear brake problems could not stop Travis Teasdale, a
Pietermaritzburg scholar from winning the Open Motorcycle Class Championship
title for 2013 at Glengarry in Kamberg.
Rear brake problems could not stop
Travis Teasdale, a Pietermaritzburg pupil, from winning the Open Motorcycle
Class Championship title for 2013 at Glengarry in Kamberg.
It was the last rounds of the 2013 SA Junior National Off-road
Championship for young off-road motorcycle competitors — all between the ages of
seven and 17, and the first time that two rounds were staged on consecutive
days. This is Travis’s second consecutive Junior National Off-road Championship
title as he has also won the 2012 125cc Class Championship.
Riding for Team Husaberg Alfie Cox Racing TLB Plant Hire Portable
Shade, Travis had to settle for two third places this weekend, but two
consecutive victories earlier this season (he won this class at the GOC
Rysmierbult Junior National at Ventersdorp in the North-West Province as well as
the Winterberg Junior National in the Gamtoos Valley in the Eastern Cape)
ensured him the title.
The defending champion from Port Elizabeth, Andrew Wren who rides
for Extreme Yamaha Support, won this class on Saturday and Sunday, but finished
lower down in the class championship for the season as he had not competed in
the first two rounds.
Kokstad rider Damien Scott (Criterion Yamaha Portable Shade) won
the season opener (the Junior Roof in Lesotho), but an injury kept him from
racing in the Gamtoos Valley. He scored a second (Sunday) and fourth place this
weekend in Kamberg.)
The Drop Points system was applied for the last two rounds, which
allowed riders to discount their worst results for the season. For Travis, this
was the Junior Roof in Lesotho, which he did not finish, but he won two
consecutive races to move to the fourth place in the class.
With the Drop Points system applied, he entered the weekend as the
leading rider, eight points ahead of Kyle Flanagan (Criterion Yamaha Portable
Shade) and ahead of Mpumalanga rider, Mauritz Meiring (McGee Yamaha), who
entered the weekend as the log leader, but dropped four points behind Flanagan
after dropping his worst results.
Kamberg rider Matthew Green (Kargo Racing KTM) used his local knowledge to his best advantage to win round five of the junior 85cc class for riders between the ages of eight and 12 years on a rainy and cold Sunday.
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| Noah Martens (aged 10) |
Noah Maartens (10) from Matatiele in the Eastern Cape/KZN races
for Team Pa Ma on his 65cc-powered KTM. He clinched the junior 65cc class
championship title by making it five wins in a row in the fourth and fifth
rounds of the Junior National Off-road Championship at the Kamberg over the
weekend.
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| Kayde Mante |
Kayde Mante from Margate was the overall Junior National Off-road
champion. Kayde won the junior 85cc class for riders between the ages of eight
and 12 years after round four at Kamberg over the weekend. But he had to settle
for second place at round five on Sunday as Kamberg rider Matthew Green won that
round.
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| Cullim Symons |
Pietermaritzburg rider Cullim Symons (Central Waste Flowe-Pac
Ekerold Yamaha) showed consistent pace to score two third places in the 125cc
class. This class was won by the new 2013 champion, Angus Coetzee (Criterion
Yamaha Portable Shade), on Sunday, with Bradley Cox (Red Bull Husaberg Alfie Cox
Racing) taking the victory on Sunday. It was Bradley’s first appearance in the
2013 Junior National Off-road season. Angus’s team-mate, Kokstad’s Dylan Barker,
finished the season in second place in this class — even though he experienced
problems on Sunday when his bike would not start and his team had to prepare his
practice bike for the race.
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| Daniel van Zyl |
