Weltevreden Park motocross rider 5th in national champs standings
The riders wasted no time in showcasing a tight battle, and Christian qualified eighth for the 85cc Pro Minicross class – not perfect, but not disastrous either.
The South African motocross racing season is rushing along at full clip, and the time came for 12-year-old Christian Berrington-Smith to head in the direction of Pietermaritzburg for the second round of the national championship series held on Saturday, April 2 at Thunder Valley.
A repeat of the opening round of the series in Cape Town, this was a faraway event for the Grade 5 Agape Christian School learner, but he will take the competitions where he finds them.
Dark skies and heavy rain were what the weatherman predicted, but as is often the case, the weatherman’s crystal ball was somewhat murky and race day broke with fair weather.
The riders wasted no time in showcasing a tight battle, and Christian qualified eighth for the 85cc Pro Minicross class – not perfect, but not disastrous either.
He got a fair launch in race one, and rounded the first corner in sixth place on his Vangani Racing KTM.
Christian set off in pursuit, and after a bit of nagging, managed to get past Ashton Martin and Jake van Schoor, to move into fourth place.
The three leaders had by now disappeared into the next postal code, but a late crash by Neil van der Vyver allowed Christian to draw near.
He crossed the line in fourth spot, and though his support crew was grinning from ear to proverbial ear, he was less than chuffed, feeling that third was in the offing.
In the second race he got off to a duff start when he mistimed the launch and a moment’s hesitation relegated him to near last spot as the snarling bees rounded the first corner.
Christian was well glum after the second race, but even on a day that yielded less than his expectations, he managed to clamber up a spot in the national championship standings to fifth, only a few points adrift of fourth.
