The newly designed and recently opened Terra Topia MX Track north of Fourways, Gauteng, played host to the final round of the South African National Motocross championship, a seven round season with all seven races to count towards the championship. With most titles still up for grabs, the Motocross fraternity was looking forward to an epic showdown on what turned out to be a heated day, on and off the track.
YOUNG GUNS SET THE PACE
With more and more talented youngsters coming through the ranks, the pressure in the 85cc Junior class was on between Red Bull KTM’s Jonathan Mlimi and his team mate Nate Mc Lellan. Both set a strong performance during the 2016 season with Mlimi leading the championship going into round seven and Mc Lellan 30 points behind him in second place. Mlimi ended the season off on a high with an impressive 1-1 finish at Terra Topia, being crowned the 2016 85cc Junior champion ahead of Nate Mc Lellan, both racing their trusty KTM 85 SX weapons.
Red Bull KTM’s Camden Mc Lellan, older brother to Nate and 2016’s 65cc Junior champion, made a big step in 2016, when he went straight from the 65cc Junior class to the competitive Pro Mini class. Mc Lellan secured the 85cc Pro Mini title at the previous round at Harrismith already. He finished the season off with a great second place in heat one and an average result in heat two where he battled with brake problems at Terra Topia. The 2016 85cc Pro Mini champion reflects on his racing season:
“2016 was a huge challenge for me. I started off a little slow at round one in the deep Rover sand in Port Elizabeth, but a win in Cape Town later in the season made me realise that I could be in the running for the championship and I made sure I was always in the mix with my KTM 85 SX. With two more overall wins at Pietermaritzburg and Harrismith I managed to win my class with one more round to go, an incredible feeling! Later this year I am excited to head off to the USA to compete in the Mini O’s for the first time and in 2017 I will be defending my Pro Mini championship in South Africa. Besides that I will be heading off to Europe for a few events, so it’s going to be a busy season.”, said Mc Lellan.
BATTLE IN THE PREMIER CLASSES
The premier classes saw another nail biting season finale with Red Bull KTM’s Kerim Fitz-Gerald heading up the scoring board in the MX2 class on board his KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition. A 4-2 finish for the day saw Fitz-Gerald comfortably securing the 2016 MX2 championship title. The 2015 MX1 champion was also in the mix for the MX1 championship, but a 4-4 finish at Terra Topia was not enough to bring home both titles in 2016:
“I felt stronger as the season progressed as I prefer the hard pack races to the more sandy tracks in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. With overall wins in both classes I tried to achieve something that I never did, that being winning both the MX1 and MX2 championship in the same season. I came close, but not close enough, so I will work even harder to achieve my goal in 2017. All in all 2016 was a good season for me, we went to MX of Nations in Italy recently which was a great experience and I’m now off to Red Bull Straight Rhythm in the USA which I’m looking forward to with excitement.”, said Fitz-Gerald.
Red Bull KTM’s Joshua Mlimi who was crowned 125cc High School champion in 2015 was thrown in the deep end when he moved up into the highly competitive MX2 class which can be quite intimidating. He however quickly got to grips changing from 2-stroke to 4-stroke and finished 2016 in fourth place in the MX2 class. He is looking back at his 2016 season:
“It was a long and progressive year for me, getting to know the bike and competition in the MX2 class. Later in the season I really managed to become one with my KTM 250 SX-F and got some good results including a heat win at Harrismith. I am really happy with how the year has turned out and I know what I need to improve on for 2017”, said Mlimi.
