Wet conditions challenge competitors
The tension was palpable at the Liquorland Winterberg National Enduro, the final round of the 2015 Liquorland National Enduro Motorcycle Championship that took place this past weekend outside Port Elizabeth.
It consisted of three special stages of which one had to be shortened due to the high water level of the rivers. E1 and E2 competitors had to complete 11 stages; Senior Class, high school competitors and Silver Class riders were in for eight stages while Master Class riders did five.
In the battle for the Senior Class title Bruce May (Team AgriSales Peak Yamaha) was leading Jody Engelbrecht (Yamaha) by a mere two points, but May crashed and finished eight points (seconds) behind Engelbrecht who walked away with the SA national title. Graham Hedgcock (KTM Cape Town) finished in a close third and was followed by local PE hero, Juan ‘’Bollie’’ van Rooyen (Brother Leader Tread KTM).
In E1 the Pietermaritzburg pupil, Travis Teasdale (Brother Leader Tread KTM) aimed for his first national enduro title. He was two points ahead of Brett Swanepoel (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha). It was not a good day for Swanepoel though and Teasdale claimed his fifth E1 victory and the 2015 national title. Dwayne Kleynhans finished third with Kyle Flanagan (KTM) fourth and Brandon Warwick-Oliver (Team Liquorland Racing Yamaha) in fifth place.
Wade Young (Brother Leader Tread KTM) claimed his sixth-consecutive victory and his first E2 title (he won the E1/200cc title in 2014 and 2013). Kenny Gilbert (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) finished in a solid second place. Young’s teammate, Scott Bouverie, had a careful race as he will undergo a knee operation soon, and finished third. He beat Altus de Wet (Altus de Wet Racing Sherco) by a single point (second).
Hilton Hayward (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) went to the ‘’Winterberg’’ with five victories in the Master Class championship behind his name and he claimed his sixth-consecutive victory and the 2015 SA National Championship title. Denzil Torlage finished second beating the defending champion, Alfie Cox (KTM) by a mere six points (seconds).
Like Young and Hayward there was also a sixth victory for Eduan Bester (NUTS Racing / KTM Centurion) who took the high school class win and bagged the title. The young Matatiele pupil, Lloyd Kirk (Pa Ma Racing Yamaha) confirmed his ‘’prize’’ by claiming a sixth victory this year.
The official standings for the 2015 Liqourland National Enduro Championship will now be calculated by Motorsport SA and will be published on
www.motorsport.co.za
