28 Jul 2014

Ross Branch emerged the overall winner in a thrilling motorcycle off-road Enduro race held at Tink farm just outside Francistown on July 26.

Branch, who won the Toyota 100km Desert race and the first national motocross championship held at the Dumela track two weeks ago, finished the four laps in a time of 3:27:18 followed closely by Dartagnan Lobjoit in 3:36:44. Calvin Collington was third in 3:55:06 while Anton Henrikson 3:58.13.

Enduro is the form of off-road motorcycle sport that primarily focuses on the endurance of the competitor.

The race attracted bikers from Kasane, Maun, Gaborone, Francistown, Zimbabwe and South Africa completed four 40km laps, predominantly off-road, going often in the forest and through the river.

The laps consisted of different stages some of which were tight while others were lax which allowed the competitors’ time to recuperate.

The race comprised of three categories, namely the B1 and B2 class which consisted of motorcycles and the B3 which comprised of quad bikes.

In the B3 class, quads Alexio Mazadza came out tops with a time of 2:30:13, followed by Lesego Khupe with 2:34:36 while Kabelo Motshoge came third with a time of 3:07:58.

The tough course had 30 starters on the day but only 12 managed to finish the race, an indication of the difficulty of the circuit.

“It is truly about rider ability at this track, it’s not about being able to go fast in a straight line, but rather fast through corners and various other obstacles including river and rocky sections,” commented Lola Berrie, Lobelo Racing Club Francistown Secretary who were the hosts.

She mentioned in an interview that when riders conquer the Tink/Collington race they go home with a true sense of accomplishment.

Berrie also highlighted that the two wheelers ’loop involved river sections, tight cornering, mud, rocks and sandy sections.

The quad bikes did not have it easier on the day than those on two wheelers as their track involved a hill section that required team work to get up and over, and the riders conquered it.

In this class they were five starters with three finishers. 

The loop was about 38km and the riders needed to complete 4 loops to finish the race.

Racing, Berrie mentioned, is not always about winning and this circuit proved that.

“We had a rider take over 4 hours to complete one loop, and the important thing is that he did not give up, and that is something we respect, Olefile Ruele, deserves recognition too, well done,” she mentioned.

One of those who couldn’t complete the race in the quad section, Kabelo Mogolodi of GMC club explained that the course was very challenging, noting that he did not get enough air to cool which resulted in smoke coming from all over the bike.

He also said that he could not do it alone and decided to pull out as a precautionary measure.

The President of Botswana Motorsport, Kevin Branch applauded Lobelo Racing club for their organisation of the race, noting that the routes where well marked which enabled the riders to focus.

The circuit, he explained, was challenging, but said, this was pretty much what the riders expected for an off-road event.

Some of the riders, he noted, have a lot of experience and he anticipated that this would be impart skills on local riders for them to compete against the best.

He also paid tribute to spectators who had come in droves, noting that this was an indication that motorsport was indeed growing in the country. 

The event, Branch highlighted, was the fourth round of off-road championships and expressed a desire to spread the races across the country.

Local riders, he also added, were doing well but he asserted that while the focus had been on seniors, they now want to turn their focus on youth development and get more youngsters and female riders to join the sport.

Also, he said that it was important for families to be involved if riders are to be successful. ENDS