10 Jul 2014

History will be made on Saturday, July 12, when the first ever Botswana National Motocross championship kicks off in the country’s second city.

Motocross is considered as one of the world’s most popular form of motorcycle racing. Motocross tracks are made up of hilly areas, dirt roads, muddy tracks and turns.

The Saturday event will be taking place at the Dumela Track, a few kilometres from Francistown on the way to the Ramokgwebana border. In this sport, the races are measured by time and usually last for up to 30 minutes.

However, other motocross races maybe determined solely on laps, so that the first rider to complete a pre-determined amount of laps is the winner.

The bikes used in motocross range from 50 to 550cc and these bikes compete in individual races according to their engine sizes. They are much lighter than normal motorcycles, made of aluminum instead of heavier metals.

In most races, riders seem to perform death-defying turns and leaps and the riders must be extremely fit. The weekend event at the Dumela track will see riders from as far as Gaborone, Maun, Orapa and probably Zimbabwe participating.

The motocross championship is hosted by Lobelo Racing Club of Francistown and will consist of classes ranging from the most junior (4 years old) to the faster more experienced riders in the MX1 class.

The points scored in this race will count not only towards the national championship of Botswana but will aid in the selection of the Botswana team to travel to Mindola, Kitwe, Zambia for the Southern African regions championship to be held in August.

Over the last few weeks, Lobelo Racing Club committee has been hard at work to re-create what was an old motocross track to one whose specifications are of international standards.

A new 50cc track will see riders aged 4 to 8 years on both two wheel motorcycles as well as quads. The main track has a variety of jumps ranging from one metre to three metres high. The track is unique in that it runs anticlockwise, which is very rare in motorsport.

The cherry on top of this event, according to Lobelo’s secretary, Lola Berrie is that for the first time the riders will be competing under Botswana Motor Sports, an affiliate of the Federation International de Motocyclisme (FIM) from which it has affiliated to Federation International de l’ Automobile (FIA).

In the past, she noted in an interview that Batswana riders raced under the flag of Motorsport South Africa but all this changed last year in November after the local motocross chapter was affiliated.

“Some of our Botswana riders have been riding for their whole lives and have never had the opportunity to ride for Botswana, now they can,” she said.

She also mentioned that the riders will be holding Botswana racing licences. As for the preparations, she added that these were going well and noted that Lobelo was fortunate that the Francistown community was willing to participate and make the event a success.

This, she highlighted, was evident as companies have come on board to assist with equipment hire to clear the track, trophies for the winners, attire, security, portable toilets and the provision of skips for waste management.

Also, she noted that they were expecting some officials from Zimbabwe and Gaborone to officiate as the sport was still new. “Our officials need training on officiating, hence officials from outside would be of great assistance,” she said.

Berrie highlighted that they were expecting around 40 riders to take part. Other new developments at the Dumela track was that it has been opened up for spectators, she added.

She noted that they were also expecting some support from the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) on Saturday. The sports’ governing body, she was hopeful, would also help them when they take the riders to Zambia for the FIM Africa cup of nations.

She said there was need for the development of facilities such as the 1km kart circuit which is expensive to lay out. For karting events, she said that they have been using the Bulawayo circuit which is closer to Francistown.

In Gaborone, she asserted that they use a private facility near the Airport junction. “Motorsport is an expensive sport; it’s not only about the bike. A rider needs a kit and insurance to participate in any race.

Local insurance companies don’t offer insurance for motocross but Marsh of South Africa covers riders. Many riders lose their lives because they ride without safety kits including helmets and neck braces,” she said.

She, however, concurred that the safety kit does not come cheap. On Saturday, she explained that no rider would be allowed to participate without the safety kit as this might endanger their lives.

Some of the riders who are expected to thrill spectators on the day include Calvin Collington, Andre Kruger, Ayush Hegde, Joshua Potts, Clayton Davids, Nathan Berrie, Aryan Parekh and Amaan Parekh.

The races will include junior quad bikes, 50cc, 65cc, 85cc, MX high school, senior quads, MX1 and MX 2.

Sponsors of the Botswana National Motocross race include Minetech, Armstrongs Racing, Waste Corp, Security Services, Becor Bricks, Hansa Flex, Auto Style, Makasa Mining, Moriti wa Selemo, Trans Africa and Taurus Batteries. ENDS