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Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
JEFFREY MEURS, the 2010 Dutch national motocross champion, will be one of Europe’s top riders who will grace this year’s Zimbabwe Summer Series at Donnybrook in Harare this week.
The Zimbabwe Summer Series is the country’s premier motorcycling event which is held annually during the second week of December.
This year’s three-day event, which comprises of two Supercross (night racing) meetings and one full day of motocross competition, gets underway tomorrow night with at least 30 South African riders also expected to take part. Most foreign riders started trickling into the country yesterday ahead of tomorrow’s Supercross race meeting which will be followed by another one on Friday night before the series draws to a close with a motocross event on Sunday.
Shaun Whyte, the chairman of the Bogwheelers Club who run the motorcycling sport of motocross in this country, said all is now set for the staging of the 2015 Zimbabwe Summer Series in which Dutchman Meurs will be among the main attractions.
“The event will begin on Wednesday night (tomorrow) and the races will see at least four European riders taking part and they include Meurs, two Belgians and another rider from Germany.
“We are now ready and the guys have started coming into the country for this event and everything is now in place for us to host this big international competition.
“We are expecting a competitive event and an improvement from last year as there are many participants who have confirmed their participation,” Whyte said.
Meurs (25) started riding dirt bikes at the age of two and went on to participate in the 85cc Class where he came third in the Dutch national championships where he also won a number of races. The Dutch later graduated to race in the 250cc Class before moving into 450cc Class and rode in the Dutch national championship where he also won a couple of races.
During his first season as a senior rider Meurs had some bad luck with the bike but in the second year, he enjoyed more success and was battling for the championship all the way through the series before he broke his wrist in a practise session in France.
Meurs took part in several international races like the Grand Prix MX3 and some Belgian races and was crowned the Dutch national champion in 2010 before he won the 2014 German MSR masters title.
And it will be interesting to see how he will perform during his maiden appearance in this week’s Zimbabwe Summer Series which is also expected to attract some top junior and senior motocross riders from South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Zambia and the hosts Zimbabwe.
In fact, most of the top junior and senior riders from Zimbabwe such as Ashley and Cameron Thixton, Regan Wasmuth, Bradley Perry, Emmanuel Bako, Reagan Evans, Kuda Mhene (Jnr), Big “BJ” Chitima (Jnr), Lee and Mudiwa Chigumba, Ryan Masimo, Ricky Whyte, Tristan Grainger, Jordan Dewdney, the Musariri brothers Nyasha, Justin and Majaji; and the country’s top female rider Tanya Muzinda are all expected to be in action during this exciting three-day event.
But it is the expected arrival of the four European riders from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany that will spice-up this event.
The first Supercross meeting will start at 6pm tomorrow and entry fee has been pegged at $5 per person while children under the age of 12 will get in for free. There will be full bar and catering during the three days of racing tomorrow, Friday and Sunday.
Donnybrook is adjacent to Harare’s high-density suburb of Mabvuku and is accessible through Acturus Road (near Chikurubi Maximum Prison) or Mutare Road.
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