A lot has happened in the last few weeks and therefore a bit longer report. Since the last report the team has grown by a further two members. Riding in the MX Lights (85cc) Class as well as in the MX2 class, Tristan Muller is the 2008 MX65 Champion and currently leads the MX Lights class on his YZ 85. Mark Sternagel, the 2008 MX Lights Champion, has returned from injury and has now moved up to the MX2 class with his YZ 125 for the remainder of the 2009 season.

Matthew Nederlof, leading the MX65 Championship and currently 3rd in the MX Lights class, has now finally received his Yamaha 85 and can now compete in the MX Lights class on an equal bike. Tommy Gous, starting the season on an YZ450F and then switched over to a YZ250, has regained a comfortable lead in the MX1 class after a difficult start to the season.

This past weekends 7th round of the Namibian Championship:

The MX65 class was cancelled for this event which meant that Matthew could only compete in the MX Lights Class. In the first heat Matt had a terrible start but soon made amends and by the end of the second lap moved up to third place. His lap times were fast and constant but were already too far behind to make any gains on the riders up front. The second heat saw Matthew have a better start going around the first turn in second place just behind Tristan. He was able to hold on his second place for a few laps until he unfortunately over-jumped the step-up and missed the turn that followed. This mistake was costly as he was passed and could not regain 2nd place. He finished 3rd overall for the day and now has a firm grip on 3rd place in the MX Lights championship. To date, Matthew has had a perfect season in the MX65 class and with consistent riding should secure him the Championship.

Due to a change in the day’s race program, it was decided to let Tristan only compete in the MX Lights class and the ‘King of the Dirt’. It was a perfect day for him with the holeshot in both heats. Tristan made a perfect start in both his heats and easily pulled away increasing his lead with every lap. His lap times improved tremendously from the previous event and he was able to consistently produce these. He remained unchallenged in both heats and took maximum points for the weekend. He now comfortably leads the MX Lights Championship with 21 points and only needs to stay consistent to secure the 2009 Championship.

The ‘King of the Dirt’ race did however not go as well as the MX Lights heats. Competing on his YZ 85, Tristan unfortunately went down after the finish table top in the second lap and broke his clutch lever off. This unfortunately meant an early retirement to this heat, but still a good day for him.

After various injuries this year, Mark only really made a start to his season this past weekend. Race fitness is still not quiet what it should be, but Mark still made an impressive start to his season. Competing as the only 125cc against the 250 4-stroke machines in the MX2 class, he showed his tremendous speed and ability to be able to compete in this class. In the first heat Mark did not have the best of starts, but managed to work his way up to 5th place in a very short time. He started to challenge for 4th position but unfortunately time ran out for him. On top of that, the bike seamed to loose power towards the end making it even more difficult to get that 4th spot. The second heat went the same way and once again he was competing for forth. The jetting changes made in between heats did not resolve the jetting problems, and together with a fall towards the end meant that he fell back to 6th position. Again the jetting was changed for the ‘King of the Dirt’ heat, but was ineffective and did not resolve the overheating problem. It was a difficult start to his campaign but a promising one.

In the MX1 class, Tommy also had a difficult day. He did however take maximum points in the MX1 class but not without some misfortunes along the way. He had awesome starts taking the holeshot in all his races. In the first heat Tommy had one of his best heats this year leading from the front the whole way. In the second heat, again after a perfect start, Tommy set out to repeat his flawless ride in the first heat. Although he was able to hold on to his class win, the clutch packed up halfway through the heat. It was a frantic team effort to try and fix the bike before the ‘King of the Dirt’ but after a short test ride, it became apparent that the problem was not solved. Thanks to a fellow Yamaha rider, Tommy was able to borrow a bike for the last race of the day. The bike was however still being raced the heat before and only slick team work made the filter change, plastics change and re-fuelling possible in order to get Tommy to the starting gate in time. On the borrowed bike, Tommy again took the holeshot. He fell back to second place for a short while before regaining the lead again. The suspension setup on the borrowed bike however did not suit Tommy and he once again fell back to second which he held until the end of the race. Tommy now has a comfortable 35 point lead in the MX1 class and after a DNF in the second round, has worked his way up to second place in the ‘King of the Dirt’ Championship.

A big ‘THANK YOU’ to all our sponsors that support the efforts of our riders. Without you the successes would surely be limited.

THE TEAM