As the start of the 2022 National Motocross season approaches, Red Bull KTM is more ready than ever to unleash its star-studded line-up of riders. The Western Cape is set to host the season opener at Zone 7 on Saturday, 19 February. 

After an unforgettable year of racing, Tristan Purdon steps into the new season with two red plates to defend. Purdon stormed to double national glory with a title in both the MX1 and MX2 Class respectively last season. The rider lines up armed a KTM 450 SX-F and 250 SX-F as his weapons of choice. He commented: “I’ve been riding for a very long time and nothing compares to my KTM racing bikes. The suspension couldn’t be dialled in better, which makes life so much easier for me when I’m racing.” Having spent the off season at his parent’s farm, the rider feels as ready to get back behind the gates as ever. He added, “Coming from the high of winning the MX1 and MX2 Championship, I’m feeling very excited to get out there again. The goal is obviously to defend the titles, but I know the competition just keeps getting stronger and that I have to work harder than ever to stay on top. I have spent most of the off season back at the farm – a place that allows me to spend more time on the bike, focus on my weak points and keep my fitness up.” Joining him in the fight for both national titles is Red Bull KTM teammate Cameron Durow. The youngster was recruited by the orange team at the start of last season and entered a bar-to-bar battle for the MX2 Championship with Purdon. Having only narrowly missed the top step and gained invaluable experience, Durow will certainly come back swinging this season. “We’re fighting for the MX1 and MX2 Championship this year – I’m so excited to have the opportunity to compete in both classes. The off season has been good, I have really enjoyed spending time on the 2022 KTM 450 SX-F and 250 SX-F – they feel incredibly fast! I’ve also been conditioning myself for longer motos to not only prepare for racing in both classes, but also for my plans to race overseas this year. I think this kind of training will give me an extra edge when it comes to fitness,” said Durow. Fresh off his High School Class victory, the talent-stacked Jonathan Mlimi will make the leap to the MX2 Class this season. Having shown immense talent, the rider is ready to step up to a new challenge. He will now join his teammates on a KTM 250 SX-F, something he describes feeling very excited about.

“The level of competition is going to be really high because I’m racing against guys with a lot more experience than me, but that’s how I’m going to learn and grow as an athlete. The power of my new machine is the thing I’ve enjoyed the most! I’ve stuck to my training programme, but managed to add in some running this time – something I’ve struggled to do after my leg injury in 2019. I’m very excited to see how that will give me an extra edge with my fitness this year,” said Mlimi. Joining the fray on the motocross scene is Luke Grundy. The young gun will represent the Red Bull KTM team in the High School class in 2022 aboard a KTM 125 SX with his sights firmly set on being crowned the National Champion.

Grundy lives in Amanzimtoti, Durban, and has done the large majority of his off season training at Cato Ridge, Thundervalley and Hammersdale. The prodigious young talent has represented South Africa at the FIM Junior World Championships in Italy in 2019 and attributes his already lengthy list of successes to a relentless work rate.Grundy expressed his immense admiration for the Red Bull KTM team and admitted that he is honoured to race for what he considers the best racing team in the country. Grundy will bring a massive dose of youthful energy and pace to the team and he will be frothing to fight for his first holeshot for his new team. 

Rounding out the team is young gun Trey Cox. The rider came painstakingly close to snatching up the Pro Mini Championship last season after a nail-biting three way battle. Having taken his place as a frontrunner in the class, Cox will line-up with more confidence than ever as he chases down the seemingly elusive Pro Mini title. 

Record entries of 320 across 16 classes for the Badplaas Wildside Lowveld Enduro on the 5th of Feb

A favored Enduro series to most riders supported by Tork Craft

Becoming a favorite series for the riders is proof with the regular 320 plus entries for all their events, and now drawing spectators. “It’s one of the most attractive enduro series,” said Ryan Hunt of Tork Craft, a co-sponsor for the series, who races as many of the events he can with his son Reece both competing and riding in the same class.“We support the Lowveld Enduro events as everything is so well organized, the venue, the great accommodation, good pits areas, their cool class options for juniors and beginners to pros,” said Multiple National MX Champion Ryan Hunt.” This a winning formula”.

 “We had 16 classes racing this weekend, 320 entries and well over 600 spectators, “said Kym Hodgskin Manager and organizer for the Club. “The race started a little wet, we had some rain from the time we started setting up on Saturday morning. Riders were hanging out in the rain for the riders briefing and just like magic the rain cleared up and the skies were clear. It was like nature added its own bit of magic for the riders. It was still a tough day out there, wet, and slippery with some very nice technical and flowing sections. With beautiful views out in the mountains. The riders, as normal for our events, all came back with big smiles on their faces,” said Hodgskin.One exciting incident for the weekend was from their support team, the marshals camp every year about 1km from pits and this year they had an extra visitor, the videographer who was camping with them got nibbled on by a leopard on the Friday night before the race. No serious injuries just a scratch. Never a dull moment at the Lowveld Enduro club races.

Overall winners for the day went to Armand Fourie Pro Elite, Paul Grobler Pro B, Warren Barwell Club Senior, Kevin Peters Masters, Mike Josten Silver A, Jacques Burger Silver B, Stuart Billingham Highschool, Miguel Cavina Pro Mini, Lindie Botha Ladies B, Roalnd Wenhold the Green class, Pieter Kritzinger the Weekend Warrior class. David Clark took the 85 Junior class, Paulus Van Niekerk the 65-cc class and Jano Lombard the 50cc juniors. Kickstarter went to Shane Hartma and Grand Master to the master himself Shaun Kirk

Overall Results

PRO ELITE

Armand Fourie

Ryan Pelser

Dwayne Kleynhans

PRO B

Paul Grobler

Gabriel du Toit

Zander Goosen

CLUB SENIOR

Warren Barwell

Paul Geddes

Yorick Zeema

MASTERS

Kevin Peters

Dennis Murphy

Pierre Botha

SILVER A

Mike Josten

Gareth van der Merwe

Josh Hulley-Miller

SILVER B

Jacques Burger

Jake Rose

Dietmar Paul

HIGHSCHOOL

Stuart Billingham

Clayton Codd

Matt Stevens

PRO MINI

Miguel Cavina

Damon Garrell

Roben Flores

LADIES B

Lindie Botha

Chantal Kirstein

GREEN

Roalnd Wenhold

Grant Mc Donald

John William Hennings

WEEKEND WARRIOR

Pieter Kritzinger

Hennie Botha

Jacques Engelbrecht

85CC JNR

David Clark   

Rouan Kruger

Hanlu Steenkamp

65CC JNR

Paulus Van Niekerk            

Alonzo Forster

50CC JNR

Jano Lombard

Kaleb van Heerden

Sias Van Nieker

KICKSTARTER

Shane Hartma

Alexandria Leigh

Willem Jacobsz

GRAND MASTER

Shaun Kirk

Etienne Espag

Jason Fulke

Next race is 2 April, the Long Tom Pass Enduro

New venue, new terrain.

For more information contact Lowveld Enduro Club go to their website www.lowveldenduroclub.co.za and to enter go to www.tagtime.co.za or call Kym Hodgskin Lowveld Enduro Club on 072 176 4303

Husqvarna Racing is about to unleash its team of championship contenders for 2022. The star-studded line-up consists of Brett Swanepoel, Heinrich Aust, Davin Cocker, David Goosen and Neil van der Vyver. Five athletes bristling with all the talent needed to bring home five championships this season. Swanepoel will be spearheading the hunt for glory in the National Enduro, National Extreme Enduro and National Cross Country Championship respectively. The team has revealed an exciting change for the new season as the rider returns to his trusty Husqvarna FX 350 in the Cross Country OR2 Championship. He explained: “The FX 350 is just the best all-rounder bike that I’ve experienced and the one that really stands out when I look at my racing career so far. It’s so versatile and its top end speed is incredible – I get so excited at the thought of racing it!”As a multi-disciplined star, Swanepoel has also set his sights on winning both the National Enduro and National Extreme Enduro Championship on his Husqvarna TE 300i. Here he will be taking on a highly competitive field of riders in the E2 Class. 

The Husqvarna Racing team has also revealed some exciting decisions about young gun Heinrich Aust. Having come painstakingly close to winning the National E1 Enduro Championship last year, the rider will be relentless in his pursuit of the title this season. To best equip him for both the championship fight and faster flowing nature of Enduro, the team has decided to put Aust on a four-stroke Husqvarna FE 250. In the National Extreme Enduro Championship, the team has moved Aust to a Husqvarna TE 250i as he steps up to the E2 Class. With a strong belief in his immense talent, the team believes that the motorcycle will condition him to become a far better all-round enduro rider. 

“I feel like I’m throwing myself in the deep end this season, but it’s the only way I’m going to get better. I know that racing against the kind of talent you find in these classes will set me up for great success,” said Aust. Cross Country star Davin Cocker will remain in the OR3 Class as he attempts to defend his hard-fought 2021 championship title. The team has revealed that the young talent will also compete in National Motocross Championship this season in the highly competitive MX2 Class.

“I raced motocross for most my life until I decided to give Cross Country a go in 2018. I missed motocross, so I jumped at the opportunity the team offered me to get back into it. I’m so looking forward to hitting some jumps again! I know that motocross will ultimately help me with my pace and consistency in Cross Country too,” said Cocker. The rider will enter the season with the Husqvarna FC 250 as his weapon of choice, a motorcycle he describes as a “nimble machine that packs the power to keep some of the bigger bikes at bay.”

Leading the charge for motocross titles is David Goosen. It was an unforgettable debut season for Goosen who was recruited by the Husqvarna Racing team at the start of last season. As a top contender for both the MX1 and MX2 Championship, the rider had a consistent season as he settled into racing on his new Husqvarna machines. Having spent a large portion of 2021 finding the setup that suits his style of racing, Goosen will return more confident than ever on his Husqvarna FC 450 and FC 250. He commented, “It was an amazing year joining the team – we learnt a lot and are still busy learning. I’m excited to line up again this year because I know I have the potential to iron out some of my weaknesses and continue to enjoy  the sport and the challenges that come with it.”

Rounding out the an all-star team line-up is Neil van der Vyver. The rider lines up as favourite for the Pro Mini title after a nail-biting three-way battle last season that came right down to the wire, proving that he has plenty of grit to go with his raw talent.On his trusty Husqvarna TC 85, the rising star will be expecting nothing less than to add the Pro Mini title to his already long-list of accolades. 

“The off season has been one of detailed planning for the Husqvarna Racing Team for 2022. As is clear in our heading, we have a small team but one that is stacked with a combination of talent and experience. It’s the first year that we have no change in personnel and that on its own is exciting.

Our Motocross team with David and Neil gets bolstered with Davin in the MX2 Class, and we look forward to seeing Davin develop in this highly competitive class. It’s incredible to think that our multiple South African Champion, Neil, who recently turned 14 is going into his sixth year with us! As for our top man, David, it did take us all some time to get back on track last year but we are all ready for him to show the pace he has this year.On the Cross Country side, we once again run with Brett and Davin and both will certainly be the guys to beat in their respective classes. Brett has moved to his favourite machine after scrumming with the 450 last year and we know his pace on the FX 350 is amazing. Davin is also very much the rider with a target on his back but has matured so much that he’s going to be difficult to catch. With Kyle at his side at all times, his support structure will mean he can be fully focused.On the Extreme Enduro and Enduro front, both Brett and Heinrich showed last year that they are capable of taking top honours in both categories. The move here has been to put Heinrich on a four stroke in Enduro and a two stroke in Extreme - this will build this young gun into an all-round Enduro specialist as he has already shown his pace throughout 2021. 

For our top man, Brett, last year was just a nightmare – a combination of food poisoning on a national race day and small navigation and technical issues meant he was constantly on the back foot. What was impressive was the fight back from Brett and we intend to ensure the mistakes are non-existent this year!Team personnel has also been given a shot in the arm with Grant Frerichs and Junior Ngwenya ensuring that all is 100% with race bikes and pit support. I always insist that success is in the detail!” said Husqvarna South Africa’s Brand Manage Fred Fensham.