The 2020 South African National Motocross Championship exploded back into action with a double-header Rounds 2 and 3 at Thunder Valley in Pietermaritzburg over the weekend. Different conditions on each day made for a thrilling weekend of racing action.
Maddy Malan started the weekend perfectly with a double win in the MX1 class in Saturday’s Round 2, outclassing the likes of David Goosen, Tristan Purdon and Lloyd Vercueil.
Maddy Malan
On Sunday’s Round 3 it was different story with David Goosen dominating both races for the 1-1, while as Purdon and Malan shared out 2nd and 3rd.
David Goosen
In the MX2 class, Kerim Fitz-Gerald took the win in the first moto of Round 2 with David Goosen taking 2nd and Tristan Purdon 3rd. Goosen went on to win moto 2 from Slade Smith in 2nd and Fitz-Gerald in 3rd.
Smith opened Round 3 on Sunday with a win followed by Goosen and Fitz-Gerald. In Race 2, Goosen went on to take victory by beating Smith and Purdon to the line.
Slade Smith
Wyatt Avis beat Ian Topliss and Brett Bircher in Saturday’s opening MX3 class race. Topliss took race 2 from Avis and Bircher. Avis took both Sunday’s races as Bircher and Topliss shared out the 2nd places.
Wyatt Avis
In the Ladies class, Kayla Raaff once again proved unstoppable as she powered to four wins over the weekend. Natasha Rugani and sisters Jadene and Chayenne de Lima fought over the remaining podium places.
Kayla Raaff
Jonathan Mlimi was another rider to take a weekend clean-sweep in the 125cc High School class. On Saturday he beat Miguel de Waal and Mark-Anthony Filip, and on Sunday he beat Christiaan Celliers and De Waal in race 1, and Dylan Lloyd-Kirk and Celliers in race 2.
Jonathan Mlimi
Kayde van Deventer took the opening 85cc Pro Mini heat from Bryce Petersen and Lucas Venter. Petersen then beat Wian du Plooy and Venter in race 2.
Nobody could stop Petersen on Sunday however, as he powered to the double. He beat Venter and Seth Young in the first race, and Du Plooy and Venter in the second race.
Kayde van Deventer
Liam Botha was unbeaten in the 85 Junior races. Ryan Adler and Tyler Petersen swapped out the seconds and thirds on Saturday. Botha continued his winning form on Sunday with wins over Petersen, Adler and Timo Maximo Toepfler the thirds.
Neil van der Vyver dominated the 65cc class. Jordan van Wyk and Trey Cox shared out the 2nd and 3rd in pursuit on Saturday. On Sunday, van der Vyver beat Cox and Blade Tilley in moto 1, before Van Wyk bounced back to 2nd over Cox in the final moto.
Neil van der Vyver
In the 50cc class Trenton Kretzmann won both Saturday races with Brody Bircher and Evan Frost sharing out the 2nd and 3rd places. Kretzmann took Sunday’s first race from Bircher and Frost, Frost then took the final from Kretzmann and Bircher.
Trenton Kretzmann
2020 SA Motocross Nationals Thunder Valley Round 2 Results
MX1
1st Maddy Malan
2nd David Goosen
3rd Tristan Purdon
4th Lloyd Vercueil
5th Kerim Fitz-Gerald
MX2
1st David Goosen
2nd Kerim Fitz-Gerald
3rd Slade Smith
4th Tristan Purdon
5th Anthony Raynard
MX3
1st Ian Topliss
2nd Wyatt Avis
3rd Brett Bircher
Ladies
1st Kayla Raaff
2nd Natasha Rugani
3rd Cheyenne De Lima
125 Highschool
1st Jonathan Mlimi
2nd Miguel De Waal
3rd Mark-Anthony Filip
85cc Pro Mini
1st Bryce Petersen
2nd Kade Van Deventer
3rd Wian Du Plooy
85cc Junior
1st Liam Botha
2nd Tyler Petersen
3rd Ryan Adler
65cc
1st Neil van der Vyver
2nd Trey Cox
3rd Jordan van Wyk
50cc
1st Trenton Kretzmann
2nd Brody Bircher
3rd Evan Frost
2020 SA Motocross Nationals Thunder Valley Round 3 Results
MX1
1st David Goosen
2nd Tristan Purdon
3rd Maddy Malan
4th Cameron Durow
5th Jesse Wright
MX2
1st David Goosen
2nd Slade Smith
3rd Tristan Purdon
4th Jesse Wright
5th Kerim Fitz-Gerald
MX3
1st Wyatt Avis
2nd Ian Topliss
3rd Brett Bircher
Ladies
1st Kayla Raaff
2nd Natasha Rugani
3rd Jadene De Lima
125 Highschool
1st Jonathan Mlimi
2nd Christiaan Cilliers
3rd Miguel De Waal
85cc Pro Mini
1st Bryce Petersen
2nd Lucas Venter
3rd Wian Du Plooy
85cc Junior
1st Liam Botha
2nd Tyler Petersen
3rd Timo Maximo Toepfer
65cc
1st Neil van der Vyver
2nd Trey Cox
3rd Jordan van Wyk
50cc
1st Trenton Kretzmann
2nd Evan Frost
3rd Brody Bircher
Photos by Ruben Louw Photography.