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 7th 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 5th 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 8th 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. 
