14 Jul 2014

Ross Branch was the toast of the day on July 12 as he powered his way to victory in the MX2 class 250cc during the inaugural Botswana National Motocross championships at Dumela track in Francistown.

The motorbike sensation, who recently won the category during the Toyota 1000km dessert race in Jwaneng, was a revelation right from the onset as he set the pace and made his intentions clear during the warm up sessions.

Looking confident and comfortable in his motorbike, spectators who had thronged the event and occupied designated spectator points along the track were eating from his hand as he dished out death defying stunts and leap much to their amusements and this drew loud cheers any time he approached a jumping range.

His command and control of the bike, especially around corners, was a marvel to watch and it was no surprise when he dominated the heats in the senior category.

Overall, he was unstoppable in all the three heats and left other riders to chase his shadow throughout the afternoon until he was crowned the winner.

The motocross championship, which attracted riders from Gaborone, Orapa, Francistown, Zimbabwe and South Africa was hosted by Lobelo Racing club of Francistown.

While the day started on a quiet note with few spectators, during the afternoon multitudes started filing in and were treated to excellent, quality, competitive and breath-taking racing starting from the juniors who competed in the quads, 50cc, 65cc, 85cc, MX high school, senior quads,MX1&MX2.

In the 50cc class, Nathan Berrie emerged victorious while in the junior quads Amaan Parekh took position one while second position went to Aryon Parekh.

In the 65cc class Kosmos Mankukos took first position while Avush Hedge came second. Zimbabwean Joshua Goby took the honours in the 85cc class followed by Joshua Potts. 

The Zimbabwean rider was also on song as he won the MX high school class followed by Brody Armstrong. David Kidd won the MX1 class followed by Matthew Lokhart-Ross and Sean Jackson respectively.

In the MX2 class, Branch won the race followed by Dart Lobjoit, Clayton Davies, Wayne Berrie, Andre Kruger and Calving Collington respectively.

At the end of the race, Branch explained in an interview that he carried on from where he left off during the desert race and said this was a result of hard work and the fun he had in the race. He also highlighted that he was grateful in that he was now representing Botswana after acquiring his citizenship unlike in the past when he raced for South Africa.

“I think overall the race went well and was competitive, we have lots of good riders in Botswana who can do well and conquer the world,” he said.

On other issues, he asserted that he has previously won the African championships four times but finished third last year. 

Also, he mentioned that he races almost all the weekends noting that next weekend, he will be competing in East London, South Africa in the SA championships. He also intends to come back to Francistown to compete in the off road national championship later this month.

A lot of youngsters, he said were coming up well especially, Dart Anan who has a bright future and trains with him. On the upcoming African championship in Zambia which he and other riders have qualified to participate in, he said Botswana can do well and noted that last year they entered a development side.

However, he said that this year, they have a full team which is teeming with talent. Despite the fact that there are not enough competitions locally, he added that local riders can hold their own against the best.

Motocross in the country, he highlighted, is doing well and growing.
Branch also commended the Botswana National Sports Council for their support and pointed that the sport was going in the right direction.

He was full of praise for the turnout at the inaugural event and said this showed that the sport was now becoming popular around the country. 

He paid tribute to his sponsors Armstrongs Attorneys, Pick n Pay Botswana, Brother and KTM.

For her part, the secretary for Lobelo Racing club who were the hosts of the motocross championship, Lola Berrie was full of praise for the way things turned out saying that competition was spectacular.

The sportsmanship displayed by riders, she acknowledged, was impressive and the quality of the competition was of a higher standard.

However, she said only one rider Andre Kruger had a minor injury and did not finish the race while Calvin Collington did not finish the race due to mechanical failure.

She also said that more riders were showing interest in joining their club and heaped praises on the organising committee and their sponsors who supported the championship. Lobelo Racing club will host the off road championship on the July 27. ENDS