It’s not crashing, it’s drifting with style
But this former Benoni High School learner didn’t have his accident during an event.
Born and bred Benonian Jaun Delport is no stranger to hard times, but he is known for his fighting spirit and coming out on top.
This story of hope encapsulates Delport’s journey through his racing career and how one accident almost cost him his leg.
“My racing career started in Grade Eight,” he said.
“I raced track bikes, 600s, at the Red Star Raceway and by Grade 10, I was an instructor. I would compete a lot in eight-hour and 24-hour events. At a 24-hour relay, we (Power Rangers team) came fourth in our race and sixth overall, so competitively we gave it our all at every event we took part in.”
After this achievement, Delport focused more on off-road racing, doing more Enduro rather than Motocross.
Enduro is a form of mountain bike racing and each race has a different style, fitness and skill requirement, and, often, a set of rules unique to each event.
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits.
“I started to take part in hard Enduro racing, entering events such as the Farm Jam series and GX CC.”
But this former Benoni High School learner didn’t have his accident during a race. On January 12 last year, he was out with a friend, teaching him a few tips and tricks to get him ready for his newly found hobby.
“We were practising at the mine dumps,” he said.
“I found a big hill earlier that morning and remembered it having a flat top, so I hit it in third gear at roughly 140/150km, but what I hadn’t noticed was the excavated digging, so as I ramped up what faced me now was a straight decline of about 20/25m.
“I fell at around 13:00 and the specialised recovery crew only rescued me at 17:00/17:30. It was an agonising wait.”
The Airfield resident broke his right-leg femur in five different places, his foot was bent up just under his rib cage and he had to undergo a total of nine surgeries to repair the damage.
“When I saw my foot I knew instantly it was broken,” he said.
“The doctors were convinced that they would have to amputate from my hip down due to massive internal bleeding and damage. But I recovered faster than the doctors could have expected. They only expected me to walk again after a year, but I was up in six months.”
Within eight months, Delport’s never-give-up attitude didn’t go to waste, as he was back on the bike with a lesson well learnt in his back pocket.
“I said to everyone, if I can kickstart my bike then I am going to ride again because if my body is ready then so am I,” he chuckled.
Delport would love to race in events again but at the moment without sponsorship, he doesn’t know if he will ever be able to get back into the competitive world.
“I just can’t afford it. You need money to buy new parts and refresh your bike often. But if I am ever offered the opportunity to race again by a sponsor willing to assist me in getting back out there, I would be ever so grateful,” he explained.
Life hasn’t always been easy for this go-getter. In his youth, he lost his brother and believes that from this moment on he began throwing his life away.
“But thanks to my parents and support systems, I didn’t,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for them I probably would have. My accident, losing my brother and everything else that has happened throughout my life are now lessons I have learnt from. Lessons that have helped me grow into the person I am today.
“My advice to anyone who has either had a disaster happen in their lives or to any sports junkies who had sustained an injury and feel everything is over for them, it’s not.
“Just remember, and this applies to everything, not just racing, no matter how confident or sure you are of yourself, always check your landing. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.”
If you would like to sponsor Delport and his dream of getting back into the racing world, contact him on 081 597 2381.
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