TIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES TO RESUME AT MAFIKENG JUNIOR NATIONAL

There are only two rounds of the 2010 World of Accessories Junior National Off-road Championship for young motorcycle and quad racers left and the upcoming Mafikeng Junior National (4 September), the sixth round of the season, will be very important for those who stand a chance of winning championship titles.

A glance at the scoreboard after the recent Junior Roof of Africa shows that Tyron Miller (Miller Moore Sandton Honda) has strengthen his lead in the Open Motorcycle Class ahead of Scott Bouverie (Red Criterion Yamaha) while Michael Pentacost (Perry Yamaha) is in third place.

One will have to keep in mind, though, that only six of the seven events will count towards the championship and if the worst set of results are being dropped at this stage, Bouverie would still be leading Miller albeit by a mere five points which means that this battle will go down to the wire. Pentacost will have to stand his man against Darren Rudling (KTM) while Moore’s team-mate, Gerald Campher and Timothy Young (Xtreme Yamaha Support) can upset the applecart. The rest of the competitors will have to focus on scoring points to better their positions in the championship.

In the Senior (85cc) Class Wade Young (Criterion Yamaha) has not put a foot wrong and is leading the class after four victories and a third place. Even if he drops his worst set of results at this stage, he would still be leading Jason Helm who will most probably not compete again this season after breaking his leg at the Lesotho event. This means that the Lesotho winner, Angus Coetzee (Shimwells Yamaha) can get settled in third place although Jan Human (Miller Moore Sandton Honda); Willie Heyns (Honda) and Brett Swanepoel (Team Joat Yamaha) are within striking range of him.

Another ongoing battle is between the Junior 85cc Class leader, Calvin Wiltshire (Shimwells Yamaha) and the Lesotho winner, Aeron Thompson (Keeler Racing Suzuki) – only one point separates these two youngsters and if both drop points at this stage, Wiltshire will be leading Thompson by a single point. Dylan McGovern (Criterion Yamaha) and Alastair Drennan (Roost Racing KTM) can, however, not be left out of the picture. Most of the riders are only separated by a small amount of points and every point will make a difference at the end of the season.

Tiaan Shattock (Kawasaki) is leading the 65cc Class comfortably, but behind him anything can happen between second-placed Marco de Sousa (The Roost KTM); Calvin Hume (iMAS Racing Kawasaki) and Dean Lindsay (KTM) with only six points separating these three riders.

In the quad category, Michael Wagner (Factory Racing KTM) is still leading the Open Motorcycle Quad Class ahead of defending champion, Giacomo Antiga (Team Can-Am), but the gap will be smaller if points are thrown away at this stage. There are also a few riders who can pick up the pieces if the battle between Wagner and Antiga become too fierce – Tinus Bredenkamp (CDV Racing Can-Am) has proven that he can also win races and has moved into third place overall while Cornel Kannemeyer (Suzuki) and Bredenkamp’s team-mate, Gerhard Steenkamp, are now all in the top five with only a handful of points separating them.

In the Junior Open Quad Class, Shaun Smith (Honda) is still leading Tyronne Renwick (Yamaha) and Joshua Schenk (Yamaha). Competitors in this class will however have to adapt their tactics for the last two races as the drop-points system can cause the current order to look totally different at the end of the season.

A title is almost a certainty for the Junior Modified Class leader, Melchior Huskisson (Dirtrider Motorcycles Yamaha), but the top four competitors (JAG Quad Racing Yamaha’s Christopher Petersen; FD Racing’s Pandelis Kafaltis on his Arctic Cat and Wayne Smith on his Honda) have scored points after each race and will have to get rid of some of these points at the end of the season. There are also not enough points between the six chasers behind Huskisson for them to get too comfortable and every point scored at the last two events, can result in the current order to change.

Competitors in the Junior Modified and Junior Open Quad Classes compete for the Junior Quad Class Champion and here Huskisson is leading Shaun Smith; Petersen and Kafaltis, but this battle will also only be settled at the end of the season.

In the Ladies Quad Class Juandrie Meintjies (Team Nako Suzuki) is tied with Elanie van den Berg (Kawasaki) for the lead.

The Mafikeng Junior National will kick off at 09h00 on Saturday (4 September) when the junior motorcycle and quad classes will tackle their two-hour race while the senior classes will start their three-hour race at 12h00.

End

Dylan McGovern (Criterion Yamaha) is third in the Junior 85cc Class.