The 11th round of the 2007 motocross world championships took place amidst the spectacular scenery of Loket in the Czech Republic. The world's top riders duly reported for duty in the Bohemian village, not far across the German border. The visual delights of the historic town were all but forgotten however as the riders got down to the serious business of qualifying for the race and extracting the maximum possible points haul from the weekend. For Shannon Terreblanche it would be his second GP on the Beursfoon Suzuki bike, and for the first time he was somewhat familiar with his yellow mount. This time he had to familiarise himself with the track which, despite, or maybe because of its beautiful layout, was quite challenging with numerous pitfalls to snag the unwary. After a workmanlike pre-qualifying session which netted him the 15th start gate for the qualifying race, Shannon lined up for his qualifying event on Saturday afternoon. To the surprise of all and sundry, he shot out of the far gate like an intercontinental missile, and by the time the pack had to lean left for the first corner, he was rubbing shoulders with runaway world championship leader Antonio Cairoli. This was a good kick -off, and Shannon maintained a strong position even in the face of some fierce challenges by the world championship hotshots. He held a top 3 position for a few laps until Davide Guarneri and fellow South African Tyla Rattray steamed past, but still qualification looked a dead certainty.
 Shanter in the Pitlane / Photo by: Jens Pohl Halfway through the race, the teenager had to remove his goggles which had by now run out of roll-off film, and when Stephen Sword passed him, he immediately tried to repass the Scotsman to get clear vision again. Although it is in the blood of a racer to always try and edge forward, the move cost Shannon dearly. He ventured onto some loose mud, and went down. The bike was lying at an awkward angle, and by the time he could remount and restart the bike, all hopes of direct qualification had evaporated.
The last chance qualifying was stacked with top talent, as the qualifying races claimed many victims. Matters looked grim for Shannon, but he displayed his gutsy fighter's instinct and rolled off lap after lap. The timing screens flashed up his name in eighth position, meaning that he would be second reserve for Sunday's races. The track, as mentioned before, however, was not kind to the competitors, and on Saturday afternoon already it looked certain that Kenneth Gundersen would not be fit to race on Sunday after a scary crash. The warm up session on race day also produced a number of crashes, and when race 1 rolled along, Shannon could take his place amongst the starters.
Another blinding start catapulted the teenager from the last starting gate to a strong top 10 position in the first corner. The battles at this level are fierce, and he soon had to yield a couple of spots to some of the more experienced fellow competitors who do not always take kindly to upstart maneuvres of this nature. It was at this stage that Shannon committed his gravest error of the weekend, focusing more on the riders behind him than those ahead. He went down in the middle of the pack, and once he got going again, he was way down the pecking order. By now his rhythm was gone, and he rode for a finish, finally crossing the line in 26th position.
The second race start was somewhat less spectacular, but possibly this was a blessing in disguise. Shannon was now in the midst of a pack of riders that he feels confident racing with, and a race long battle ensued for the last few precious points. For the second time in as many days he was involved in a battle with a fellow South African, and this time it was Gareth Swanepoel who had to fight for a few laps to get past his younger compatriot. As the race wound down, Shannon found himself in the last points scoring position, 20th place, and he held onto this grimly. He hauled in Carlos Campano hand over fist to try and gain another spot, but time ran out, and he crossed the line in 20th position, happy with his first point on the Beursfoon Suzuki.
Shannon currently sits in 37th position in the world standings, and this young stage of his world championship career, he is happy with every point that he can add to his tally.
"It was a good weekend overall," he said. "I messed it up in the qualifying race when I tried to pass Sword whilst in a safe position, and the last chance session was really tough. I have learnt how to put in a fast lap now, though, and I am gaining experience all the time. The track was getting very slippery and dangerous in the second race, and I concentrated on staying upright and getting the point. The bike is just fantastic, and I want to thank Beursfoon and Vangani Racing and all my other sponsors for helping me this far."
Shannon's next outing will is one of the big ones, the GP at the famous Citadelle of Namur. This track is famous/notorious for sorting the men from the boys, and Shannon hopes that, come Monday, he will be ranked amongst the former grouping.
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