The 2014 Enduro World Championship got underway in Solsana with the GP of Catalunya this weekend, with the KTM Enduro Factory Team reaping a slew of victories and podiums to launch their title bids.

Saturday’s first round proved to be particularly fruitful with wins in all three senior classes and two second places in E1 and E3 put all five factory riders in the spotlight. Riders returned on Sunday to pick up wins in E1 and E3, a podium second in E2 and a podium third in E3 to round off a great first weekend of racing.

E1
On what was described by Frenchman Antoine Meo as a return to the days of very hard Enduro riding, the 2013 E3 World Champion Christophe Nambotin proved at home and in winning form in Saturday’s E1 on the nimble KTM 250 EXC-F, winning six tests. Teammate Cristobal Guerrero of Spain was back to top form and injury free to finish second.

Nambotin was again in great form in the E1 class on Sunday to be fastest in seven of the nine tests for another decisive victory. Teammate Guerrero looked set to seal second place after a crash had cost him three places and 12 seconds and he had to settle for fourth.

E2
Meo (2013 E1 World Champion) was also the top rider in the highly competitive E2 class and led the field all day Saturday despite nursing a small foot injury. “It’s a long time since we had a race like that. The stages were long and very difficult. But I like the bike (350 EXC-F) a lot and the team has worked very well through the winter. The E2 is a tough class but its fun for me.”

Meo returned on Sunday to pull off second in E2 with a strong finish in the last three tests, eventually losing to Renet of France by just one second.

E3
Ivan Cervantes, like Guerrero, well supported by the Spanish fans had a great day out on Saturday to take the E3 victory but the factory team’s rookie, Australian Matt Phillips did not make it easy for him as the two riders on their 300 EXC machines sealed the top two spots in E3.?

Cervantes was again the dominant E3 rider on Sunday to comfortably take the top podium place. Phillips had a problem in the second extreme test but recovered well to hang onto a podium third on Sunday to signal the rookie will be a major player in the class this season.

Team boss Fabio Farioli said it had been a very solid weekend for the team. “Of course we would have likes to also have a win on Sunday in the E2 class but it was a good weekend, there were some very good fights for victory and we are now looking forward to the next rounds in Portugal next weekend.”

Enduro World Championship Rd.2 GP of Catalunya
Results E1
1, Christophe Nambotin, FRA, KTM (2 x wins in Rds. 1 & 2)
2, Anthony Boissiere, FRA, Sherco
3, Eero Remes, FIN, TM
4, Cristobal Guerrero, ESP, KTM (placed 2-4 in Rd. 1 & 2)
5, Jeremy Tarroux, FRA, Sherco
Other KTM
10, Edward Hubner, GER, KTM
11, Rudy Moroni, ITA, KTM
13, Joaquim Rodrigues, POR, KTM

E1 Championship Points after Rd. 2
1, Nambotin 40
2, Guerrero 32
3, Boissiere 27

Results E2
1, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, FRA, Husqvarna
2, Antoine Meo, FRA, KTM
3, Johnny Aubert, FRA, Beta
4, Jonathan Barragan, ITA Husqvarna
5, Alex Salvini, ITA, Honda
Other KTM
10, Mirko Gritti, ITA, KTM
12, Goncalo Reis, POR, KTM

E2 Championship Points after Rd. 2
1, Meo 37
2, Renet 35
3, Aubert 32

Results E3
1, Ivan Cervantes, ESP, KTM (2 x wins in Rd.1 &2)
2, Matti Seistola, FIN, Sherco
3, Matthew Phillips, AUS, KTM (placed 2-3 in Rd. 1 &2)
4, Luis Correa, POR, Beta
5, Aigar Leok, EST, TM
Other KTM
7, Jeremy Joly, France, KTM
11, Oscar Balletti, ITA, KTM
13, Simone Albergoni, ITA, KTM

E3 Championship points after Rd. 2
1, Cervantes 40
2, Phillips 32
3, Seistola 27 

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ken Roczen made a welcome return to the US Supercross Championship on Saturday night in Houston’s Reliant Stadium when he finished third. Teammate Ryan Dungey made an impressive recovery from a first lap crash to finish seventh overall and salvaged important points in the championship hunt.

Dungey was up in the first 450 SX heat where he engaged in a six-lap, four-way battle for the win alongside James Stewart, Josh Grant and Justin Barcia. He was third at the start and gained a place on Stewart in lap two. Then he took the opposite line down the split section and together with Stewart got around Grant to move into the top two spots. The leading contenders remained a bike length apart as they battled to the checkered flag.  Dungey crossed the line in second to advance to the main event.

Roczen was placed in the second heat and was at fifth after the start. He advanced into fourth in lap four at after leader Ryan Villopoto crashed and slipped past fellow KTM rider and holeshot winner Andrew Short on the final lap to finish third for his qualifying place in the main.

Roczen was a solid fifth at the first corner in the main event but quickly advanced to third place during the first lap. Behind him, Dungey had a poor jump off the start. He was buried back at eighteenth on the first lap, made contact with two other riders and crashed. He quickly scrambled back into the action but was right at the back of the pack.

Dungey spent the first half of the race moving up the order while turning lap times that were matching the lead riders. He was back in the top ten at the halfway mark and continued to pick off riders in the remaining laps to finish an impressive seventh at the end of the race.

Roczen was able to maintain his position to the checkered flag. He crossed the line in third to make a welcome return to the podium after an absence of four rounds. The German teenager is having an impressive debut season in the 450-class with both he and Dungey riding the KTM 450 SX-F Factory bike.

“It feels great to get back on the podium,” said Roczen. “I never was able to jump the quad that the lead riders were doing so I lost some time to them, but I am happy overall with the way I rode. I’m starting to test a lot more for outdoors coming up and I feel like it is making me stronger and will help me near the end of the season.”
 
“Unfortunately, I got a bad start and then came together with another rider on the opening lap which caused me to go down,” Dungey commented after the race. “I did my best to salvage what points I could riding from last to seventh by the end of the race. I’m disappointed how the race turned out but happy that I’m healthy and came away unscathed.”

Dungey and Roczen are currently 3-4 in the championship points with Dungey just one point away from second place. ?

The competition returns to the west coast next weekend for the next event at Seattle, WA – April 12, 2014

Overall 450-class results Rd. 14  Houston 
1, Ryan Villopoto
2, Justin Barcia
3, Ken Roczen – KTM
4, Trey Canard
5, James Stewart
6, Andrew Short – KTM
7, Ryan Dungey – KTM
8, Mike Alessi
9, Eli Tomac
10, Chris Blose

Overall Point Standings –
1, Ryan Villopoto – 293
2, Stewart 248
3, Dungey 247
4, Roczen 235
5. Barcia 198

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli of Italy was at his golden best on Sunday at the MXGP of Brazil taking a decisive 1-1 victory to surge ahead 30 points in the championship after just three rounds. It was the Italian’s sixty- fifth career GP victory.

The seven times world champion opened his account in the first moto with a stunning display of riding on his KTM 350 SX-F that thrilled the 20,000 Brazilian fans.

After getting hemmed in at the start he moved from sixteenth up to sixth in the opening lap and then settled down to pick off his challengers one by one while at the same time setting a string of personal best lap times. Twelve minutes into the 30-minute plus two laps race he was half a second behind the leader Jeremy van Horebeek. Two minutes later he took the lead and began to distance himself from the rest of the field.

Even the rain that started to fall on the Beto Carrero red clay track failed to undermine the pace of the race leader. Cairoli was in front by almost 16 seconds when he charged across the finish line, setting the stage for a thrilling second moto.

Heavier rain in between the two sessions threw in another difficulty factor, ensuring that the surface became slicker and stickier than in the opening moto. Cairoli was fourth at the start as MXGP riders shot out of the grid for the second time but he quickly moved up a position to sit behind his traditional rivals Gautier Paulin and Clement Desalle. Cairoli settled down in the next laps to put pressure on Desalle while assessing his overtaking options.

Sixteen minutes into the race he made his move into second. One minute later he was in the lead and immediately put down his fastest lap. The Italian went on to wrap up the race in style to pick up maximum points for this outing in South America.

Tony Cairoli: “I like this track a lot and I like being here in Brazil with a lot of cool people cheering. It’s a very technical track and this level of difficulty was increased after the rain we had between the two motos. Also the track this year was ripped way too much but it was the same for everyone. In some ways that was good because it was even more technical. It’s nice to be winning again like we did last year. Now I have 65 GP wins so it was another great result.”

MX2
With Jeffrey Herlings absent while resting an injured shoulder this weekend, the competition was fierce in the MX2 class, however it proved to be an unlucky weekend for Cairoli’s factory teammate Jordi Tixier of France. A series of crashes on the slick red clay track left him with a 12-12 result for an uncharacteristic overall eleventh.

Tixier admitted after the races that he had struggled with the Brazilian circuit right from the opening practice. “I never had a good feeling for the track right through this weekend and I also didn’t have the speed. I crashed three times in each race and twice I finished twelfth so I am really disappointed. In practice I am good but I am not so good in the race so it is something in my head I have to try to sort out.”

MX2 GP winner Arnaud Tonus of Switzerland took the victory and Herlings, who has consistently been the MX2 championship leader over the past two seasons dropped to fourth in the points. But as Brazil is only the third of a long 18-round season, there is plenty of opportunity for KTM’s Dutch rider to make up lost ground in his quest for a third world title.

In other news from the Red Bull KTM Factory team, Cairoli's MXGP partner Ken de Dycker, who has been recovering from an off season injury, suffered another slight setback this week when he sustained a small injury to his left ankle as the result of an accident at home. Ken has been told by his doctors that it should be healed in about 10 days.

The next round is at Arco di Trento in Italy on April 13, 2013

MXGP Results Rd. 3 Brazil
1, Tony Cairoli, ITA, KTM, (1 – 1)
2, Clement Desalle, BEL, Suzuki, (3 – 3)
3, Jeremy van Horebeek, BEL, Yamaha, (2 – 4)
4, Gautier Paulin, FRA, Kawasaki, (6 - 2)
5, Max Nagl, GER, Honda, (4 – 5)
Other KTM
13, Jake Nicholls, GBR, KTM, (11 - 15)
15, Matiss Karro, LAT, KTM, (20 - 8)
16, Shaun Simpson, GBR, KTM, (15 -13)

MXGP Standings after Rd. 3
1, Cairoli, 142
2, Paulin, 112
3, Van Horebeek, 112
4, Desalle, 111
5, Nagl, 110

MXGP Manufacturers Standings after Rd. 3
1, KTM, 142
2, Suzuki, 113
3, Kawasaki, 112

MX2 Results
1, Arnaud Tonus, SUI, Kawasaki, (1 – 2)
2, Glenn Coldenhoff, NED, Suzuki, (5 - 1)
3, Max Anstie, GBR, Yamaha, (4 - 4)
4, Dylan Ferrandis, FRA, Kawasaki, (2 – 10)
5, Tim Gajser, SLO, Honda, (11 - 3)
Other KTM
6, Valentin Guillod, SUI, KTM (7 - 5)
10, Jose Butron, ESP, KTM (9 - 9)
11, Jordi Tixier, FRA, KTM (12 - 12)
12, Mel Pocock, GBR, KTM (15 -13)

MX2 Standings after Rd. 3
1, Tonus, 112
2, Coldenhoff, 110
3, Ferrandis, 107
4, Herlings, 97
5, Febvre, 96
Other KTM
8, Tixier, 77
9, Butron, 74
11, Guillod, 59
15, Pocock, 37

MX2 Manufacturers Standings after Rd. 3
1, Kawasaki, 130
2, KTM, 127
3, Suzuki, 110

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ken Roczen of Germany finished fourth overall at the thirteenth round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. Factory teammate Ryan Dungey battled alongside him but suffered a last lap crash that dropped him down the order into ninth.

Despite his bad luck, Dungey retains his second position in the overall points and Roczen holds onto fourth as he continues his great rookies season in the 450-class.

Dungey raced heat one and grabbed the holeshot and the first lap lead only to see the race restarted after it was red flagged for a fallen rider. This time Dungey came out of the gate at fifth place. He picked up one position early on and then spent the final lap in a three-way battle for second place. He banged bars with Justin Barcia and Weston Peick and came up just short of making the pass to finish fourth to qualify into the main event.

Roczen lined up for the second heat and pulled a third place start off the line. He maintained his pace and finished the race in that same position to advance to the main event.

When the gate dropped for the main event, Roczen was in sixth and Dungey got stuck mid-pack. Roczen made critical passes to move up to a possible podium position in the first half of the race and was in fourth at the halfway mark. Dungey followed suit and had moved up from eleventh to sixth by lap twelve. Dungey then made a pass on Justin Brayton to move into the top five and continued to work his way up to the leaders.

Dungey was able to reel in his teammate on the final lap and began to pressure for the position through the final rhythm section. But he then made a mistake and crashed while trying to battle for the spot and lost a few positions while scrambling back into the action. Roczen held onto his fourth position while Dungey cross the line in ninth place, just behind KTM rider Andrew Short.
 
Ken Roczen: “I really liked the dirt used on the track tonight. It didn’t get too deep or rutted but was still challenging and fun to ride. The whoop section was a little tricky and the lappers were hard to get around toward the end of the race. My result wasn’t quite what I hoped but definitely not the worst outcome either, so I’ll take it.”

Next Event: Houston, TX – April 5, 2014

Overall Results –
1, James Stewart
2, Ryan Villopoto
3, Justin Barcia
4, Ken Roczen – KTM
5, Trey Canard
6, Eli Tomac
7, Josh Hill
8, Andrew Short – KTM
9, Ryan Dungey – KTM
10, Justin Brayton

?Overall Point Standings –
1, Ryan Villopoto – 246
2, Ryan Dungey – 221
3, James Stewart – 207
4, Ken Roczen – 197
5, Justin Brayton – 185 

The new brand count goes on for the Cayenne Group with the recent landing of the famous Italian Bimota brand for Southern Africa.

“The Bimota built machines are very popular in South Africa and have been for some time now” said Craig Langton The plan is to rebuild the brand in this country. ”

“We will be importing the full Bimota range including the exclusive BB3 powered by the BMW S 1000 RR power plant” he went on to say

The Bimota brand adds to the Cayenne Groups list of famous Italian motor cycles joining MV Agusta and Beta, this latest acquisition grows their brand tally to 8 with more to come according to sources.

Cayenne Kyalami is a very successful Honda dealer with the group having its own brands as well these being the Hyosung, Johnny Pag, Kuberg, Norton, Beta, MV Agusta and now Bimota.  

Bimota is a small, Italian manufacturer of custom and production motorcycles. It was founded in 1973 in Rimini, Italy by Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini how it all started is a very interesting story.          

In September 1972, Massimo Tamburini crashed his Honda 750 Four at the Misano racetrack. The accident left him with three broken ribs. If the accident hadn't occurred, Bimota may never have come into existence. While Massimo was recuperating, he constructed a tubular steel frame that could withstand the horsepower being produced by the big Japanese manufacturer's engines. The frame Massimo constructed lowered the centre of gravity and reduced the weight of the original Honda. With the creation of the HB1, the Bimota was born. Only ten of these first motor cycles were ever produced.

The Bimota name was derived from its founder's initials; Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini. However, it was the enthusiasm and engineering excellence of Massimo Tamburini that carried the Company to success. In the 1970’s, Bimota produced racing frames that caught the attention of serious bike racers. Frames such as the YB1, YB2, YB3 and HDB1, HDB2 and SB1, were of superior quality and the perception of what a racing bike should be was changed forever.

Australian Jack Miller took line honors in the opening Moto3 World Championship race at the Losail Circuit in Qatar, the first of 18 rounds of the competition. It was the 19-year-old Australian’s first Moto3 win and was a great debut with the Red Bull KTM Ajo Factory team.

Miller who had a front row start swooped to the front at the start of the race shadowed by Spaniard Marc Marquez. The two riders then settled down to swap the lead back and forth and at one point had a 3.5 second lead on the rest of the pack.  

Behind the leaders a battle raged for the minor podium place with engagement by no less than five or six riders. The group narrowed the gap to the two leaders to less than a second in the closing laps setting up what was to be a thrilling final dash to the line.

Miller who before then race had pledged to be patient and go for the maximum points, played his hand well. Going into the final corners the Australian was perfectly placed to capitalize on a small mistake by rival Marquez. Marquez went wide in the corner, Miller quickly grabbed the advantage and went on to take line honors and pick up maximum points in the opening round.

Immediately after the race, an excited Miller said he had gone all out in the final lap. “It was pretty scary going into the final lap because the tires were more worn than I expected them to be. But I just gave it my all. We couldn't have asked for anything better. It was a really good first race. its a great way to start the season, but its that. Its the start. We still have a long way to go and I still have a lot to learn."

Miller’s teammate Karel Hanika, who won his berth in the factory team after taking victory in the 2013 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup rode a solid race from nineteenth position on the grid to finish in thirteenth place to pick up his first world championship points in his debit race. Both riders are on the KTM RC250 GP machine.

Factory team boss Aki Ajo said it had been great to start the season with a win but underlined it would be a hard fought competition in 2014. "It will be really tough in the small bike category but somehow also very interesting. The tough competition between the manufacturers makes it more interesting for everyone and for us it is even more motivation to work even harder. Never give up!"

The first of the 18-round competition for the 2014 Moto3 World Championship set the scene for what will be a hard fought battle for the title this season.

Moto GP of Qatar - Losail Circuit - Round 1
Moto3 Results
1, Jack Miller, AUS, KTM, 38’05.810
2, Alex Marquez, ESP, Honda, 38’06.043
3, Efren Vazquez, ESP, Honda, 38’06.090
4, Miquel Oliveira, POR, Mahindra, 38’06.105
5, Alex Rins, ESP, Honda, 38’06.179
6, Jakub Kornfeil, CZE, KTM, 38’06.396
7, Alexis Masbou, FRA, Honda,38’07.919
8, Isaac Viñales, ESP, KTM, 38’07.971
9, Niccolo Antonelli, ITA, KTM, 38’13.963
10, Francesco Bagnaia, ITA, KTM, 38’13.983
Other KTM
12, Romano Fenati, ITA, KTM, 38’14.029
14, Karel Hanika, CZE, KTM, 38’17.102
16, Enea Bastianini, ITA, KTM, 38’27.969
DNF, Eric Granado, BRA, KTM
DNF, Hafiq Azmi, MAL, KTM

Moto3 Standings after Round 1
1, Miller, 25
2, Marquez, 20
3, Vazquez, 16
4, Oliveira, 13
5, Rins, 11
6, Kornfeil, 10
7, Masbou, 9
8, Viñales, 8
9, Antonelli, 7
10, Bagnaia, 6
Other KTM
12, Fenati, 4
14, Hanika, 2

Moto3 Manufacturers Standings after Round 1
1, KTM, 25
2, Honda, 20
3, Mahindra, 13

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey scored another podium finish in the 450 SX class at the twelfth round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series on Saturday at the Roger Centre in Toronto, Canada. His factory teammate Ken Roczen also earned a solid fifth place.

Dungey, one of the most consistent riders in the competition is now second in the championship points, trailing Villopoto, the leader by 25 points. Roczen, from Germany who is in his rookie year in the 450-class is currently fourth.

Dungey was placed in the first 450 SX heat at the start of the night program. He was fourth around the first corner but dropped two places in the opening lap after making a bid for third place. He then recovered from the mistake and finished fourth to take a transfer spot to the main event.

Roczen started in the second 450 SX heat and was fifth out of the gate. The young German quickly moved through the pack, was in second by the end of the fourth lap and went on to finish in that position for a place in the main next to his teammate.?

When the gate dropped for the twenty lap main event, it was Roczen on his 450 SX-F Factory Edition bike that set the pace after pulling the holeshot around the first corner. Dungey was a few positions back in fifth. Roczen held the lead for three laps before dropping back to second. Meanwhile, Dungey was putting in solid laps and by the halfway mark was sitting in third behind his teammate.

Dungey lost a position to James Stewart on lap twelve but gained it back after passing Roczen on the following lap. Dungey held his pace to grab the final podium place while Roczen went on to finish fifth.
 
Ryan Dungey: “This track was really challenging tonight. It was really rutted up which made us have to switch lines often and it was hard to climb through the pack and make passes. I’m glad to be on the podium but I feel I should have been a little better tonight. I’m hoping to make up for that at the next round.”
 
Ken Roczen: “I struggled a bit in the main tonight. “I feel like I might have trained too hard during the week and I got tired tonight. I’m glad I could get the holeshot for my team but I would have really liked to finish on the podium.”

Next Event: St. Louis, MO – March 29, 2014

US SX Rd. 12 Toronto
Overall Results –
1, James Stewart
2, Justin Barcia
3, Ryan Dungey – KTM
4, Justin Brayton
5, Ken Roczen – KTM
6, Ryan Villopoto
7, Weston Peick
8, Dean Wilson
9, Josh Hill
Other KTM
10, Matt Goerke – KTM
11, Andrew Short – KTM

Overall Point Standings after Round 12
1, Villopoto – 246
2, Dungey – 221
3, Stewart – 207
4, Roczen 197
5, Brayton 185

Taddy Blazusiak, a rider who has had spectacular success, particularly in Extreme Enduro, SuperEnduro and Endurocross will continue under contract with the KTM Factory Team for the seasons 2015 and 2016. 

Taddy, now 30, burst onto the scene in 2006 at the notoriously difficult Erzberg Rodeo, when after winning the prologue, he was offered a borrowed KTM bike to race the grueling Red Bull Hare Scramble. He won the event, his first of five, and was rewarded with a place on the KTM Factory Extreme Enduro team.

Blazusiak then turned his attention to what was the beginning of the vibrant discipline of indoor enduro and has gone on to be the dominant rider in both Europe and the USA. He has now won five consecutive SuperEnduro World Championships and another five AMA EnduroCross Championships. He is also now the rider that everyone wants to beat. Taddy rides a KTM 250 EXC-F

Pit Beirer, Head of KTM Motorsports said he was delighted that Blazusiak is staying with the factory team. “We’ve had already enjoyed eight great years with Taddy and I’m very pleased that he is staying with us as a valued member of the KTM Racing family. Taddy is a real professional and with his thrilling riding style and will to win, he has been a key figure in the emergence of EnduroCross in the US and SuperEnduro in Europe. We look forward to sharing even more success with him in the coming seasons.”

Having secured his fifth SuperEnduro world title in Tours, France at the end of February, Taddy is now preparing for the AMA EnduroCross, which kicks off in Las Vegas on May 2 and finishes in Ontario, CA on November 22. EnduroCross and SuperEnduro are on a popularity roll and the sport is also now being practiced in other countries. Both major international competitions continue to expand in terms of calendar events and rider and crowd support.

Taddy Blazusiak: “I already had a contract with KTM through to the end of 2014, but I’m super pumped and really happy to extend this for another two years. I have a great bike and a great team and I am really looking forward to winning some more titles. We are about to start testing ahead of the EnduroCross season and I’m looking forward to another great year.”

Blazusiak’s incredible riding skill and his obvious enthusiasm for what he does has not only earned him a huge international fan base; it has also made a big contribution to the growing popularity of this sport that makes enduro accessible to spectators in a stadium environment. 

Red Bull KTM Factory racers Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings both delivered double moto wins in the MXGP and MX2 classes at the MXGP of Thailand on Sunday to take their respective GP victories and the red plates as championship points leaders.

While it is early days in the 17-round championship, KTM’s two reigning world champions signaled their intentions in the second round of the championship with the kind of flair that has allowed them, and KTM, to dominate their classes in previous seasons.

Both Cairoli and Herlings laid down the marker of their intentions in their opening motos on the Si Racha circuit with Herlings getting the action underway in the opening MX2 moto. His second place in qualifying earned him a place next to Dylan Ferrandis on the starting line and their recent rivalry was evident with a touch of wheels as they launched out of the gates.

But Herlings, who returned to racing last week in Qatar after a near six-month injury layoff, had taken control of the race 10 minutes into the 30 minute plus 2-lap race, and with an advantage of six seconds. Looking much more comfortable on the track than he did in Qatar last weekend, the double MX2 world champion went on to take a solid win while his rivals fought it out behind him for the minor places.

The Diamond Route 400, the opening round of the South African National Offroad championship, took place this past weekend in Wolmaransstad in the North West province, 2hrs 30min outside of Johannesburg. Recent rain saw competitors preparing for a wet and muddy race but the weather gods were in a good mood this past Saturday when they stopped the rain the day before the race and sunshine awaited riders and spectators alike on race day.

All eyes were on the Brother KTM team at this opening round of the National Offroad championship and on two men in particular, namely Ross Branch who dominated the seeding event earlier this year and his team mate Louwrens Mahoney. Would they be able to run at the front at the Wolmaransstad National and would the multiple champion Mahoney be able to claim back the number one plate after his injuries suffered last year? The outcome of this race would certainly give an indication of where the 2014 Offroad championship could be going.

The race format for the Diamond Route 400 saw a six lap race which consisted of two different loops of approx. 60 km’s that competitors had to complete three times each. After three laps a 15min de control gave competitors enough time to refuel themselves and their machines while carrying out necessary tyre changes, etc. Brother KTM’s Louwrens Mahoney quickly set the pace onboard his KTM 500 XC-W and found his rhythm. He knew he still had the pace after he had been out of the racing environment for nearly seven months and put the hammer down, keeping the lead all the way to the chequered flag, taking overall victory and winning the highly contended OR1 (open) class.

“The morning pace was extremely fast from the beginning, both Ross (Branch) and Timmy (Young) were racing each other MX style but they got lost and kept overshooting corners, so I caught them. My bike handled like a dream after we made some small changes to my suspension and from then I could start charging even more and extended my lead. I didn’t want to make mistakes, but I knew I had to push hard which all paid off at the end. I couldn’t be happier with my first victory for the year and I’m looking forward to the remainder of the season.”, said Mahoney.

Mahoney had to keep an eye out for Kargo Racing’s Timothy Young as well as Brother KTM team mate Ross Branch earlier in the race, problems however moved Young further back in the field, while Branch started chasing his team mate onboard his KTM 450 XC-F.

“I had a good day and tried to learn as much as I could from the front runners. Louwrens (Mahoney) managed to pull away from us and my timing and strategy weren’t the best earlier in the race, but I put the hammer down on the last lap when I realized that I had fallen back to fourth place overall on corrected time, only a few seconds off second and third place. I managed to make up time and I’m extremely happy with my second place overall.”, said Branch 

In the OR2 (250cc) class it was Brother KTM’s Tyron Miller who impressed onboard his KTM 350 XC-F. Miller took the OR2 class win and finished the race in 7^th place overall. “My first lap was slow, I got caught up in traffic, but my second and third laps were much better and once we changed to the second loop for the last three laps I could start charging as the course was a lot faster and less technical, which was to the advantage of the bigger bikes, but I managed to keep up. All in all I had a good day and I’m happy with my result.”, said Miller. Miller’s team mate Jonathan van Wyk finished in 5^th place in the OR2 class 

Louw Schmidt, Brother KTM’s youngest rider on the team, did not disappoint when he crossed the finish line in an impressive 8^th place onboard his KTM 250 XC-F, being the first OR3 (200cc) rider home. A phenomenal ride from the 2013 OR4 champion and certainly a rider to watch out for in 2014 and seasons to come.

“I got to know the track during the first lap and started enjoying the course. The track got rutted out a bit however and there were a couple of braking bumps to watch out for. The marking of the course was great and I enjoyed changing over to the faster second loop as it was a lot more open and I could start pushing. My bike was great and I am very happy with my result. I was looking for a top 10 overall and that’s what I achieved.”, said Schmidt.

Senior class rider Juan ‘Bollie’ van Rooyen was looking forward to the first National Offroad and had changed to the 300 XC-W 2-stroke machine for 2014. The seasoned rider from Port Elizabeth enjoyed the much lighter and nimble 2-stroke machine and had a great time out amongst all the youngsters. Van Rooyen took top honours in the Senior class and is the top title contender for 2014.

The Brother KTM team could not have asked for more, taking home the overall win, OR1, OR2, OR3 and Senior class wins as well as the manufacturer’s trophy. All competitors are now looking forward to round two of the National Offroad championship taking place in Windsorton near Kimberley on 12 April.