2018 SA Motocross Nationals Zone 7 Race Report

The TRP Distributors SA Motocross National Championship headed to the Mother City for Round 5 of the 2018 season, at the Zone 7 MX track. It was a mixed bag of luck for some of the top riders in the continued hunt for the number one plate in South African Motocross.

In heat 1 of MX1 it was a very determined ride from David Goosen that saw him choose a far outside starting gate which paid off as he holeshotted the first race and eventually went on to win it as well. Tristan Purdon fought off the hot favourite, Caleb Tennant for 2nd and 3rd respectively.
David Goosen
Heat 2 saw the roles reversed slightly with Purdon having to initially fight his way to the front to beat off the contenders in Tennant and Goosen. Purdon took a 2-1 for the overall but Tennant’s solid 3-2 performance kept him in red number board status heading to the next round in Welkom at the Phakisa MX track.
Tristan Purdon

MX2 is arguably one of the most competitive categories in the series. Once again Caleb Tennant continued his winning ways in the first heat despite a crash
Maddy Malan
Maddy Malan blew out one of the berms and went off track in heat 1 but hung on only just to beat a last lap onslaught by David Goosen. Caleb had promised his fans a double and that’s exactly what he delivered with Malan in closer attendance for 2nd and Goosen very close for 3rd. Caleb also maintains his points lead in MX2.
Caleb Tennant

In MX3 it was Dewald van der Berg that went 1-1 for the overall. Ian Topliss went 2-2 for 2nd while Dylan Donald and Brett Bircher shared the third step in both moto’s.
Dewald van der Berg

An awesome display of 125cc High School action took place through both heats of racing. A bit of international flair was in the mix by way of Holland’s Rob van de Veerdonk giving the front runners a bit of a run for their money. Dalton Venter eventually beat out the Dutch rider with a 1-2 for 1st. Justin Sangster had some work to do in heat 1 but the 3-1 gave him 2nd overall with Van de Veerdonk finishing in 3rd.
Dalton Venter

The Ladies were in full attendance with 14 riders in the gate. Kayla Raaff beat out a very hard battle with Leah Heygate in heat 1.
In heat 2 to the order was reversed and although Heygate took the win, Raaff ‘s second place was good enough to keep the red plate going into the next round. Natasha Rugani took 3rd overall.
Leah Heygate

On his return from winning his European Championship it was going to be very hard for anyone to catch Camden Mc Clellan in the 85cc Pro Mini class. Jonathan Mlimi put down a hard charge by taking the holeshot but a 3-3 finish would leave him settling for 3rd. Mark-Anthony Filip took 2nd place overall.
Camden Mc Clellan

Championship points leader Emmanuel Bako had a big crash in the 1st heat of the 85cc Juniors seeing him sidelined, and that left the door open for Troy Muraour to win twice off Luke Grundy and Wesley McGavin.
Troy Muraour

Staying true to form in the 65cc class, Lucca Mynhardt doubled on the day and is proving to be a hard kid to beat. Younger brother, Andrea Mynhardt took the double in the 50cc class.