Tanya back for Zim Summer Series

Faith Mutema: Sports Reporter

IT’S that time of the year again when hundreds of local motorsport enthusiasts head to Donnybrook Raceway in Harare to watch the country’s premier motorcycling event – the Zimbabwe Summer Series – which revs off tonight.The 2016 Zimbabwe Summer Series will comprise of two Supercross (night racing) events and one full day of motocross action, starting with tonight’s first Supercross competition which will be followed by another one on Friday night.

Tonight’s and Friday night’s Supercross meetings will precede Sunday’s full day of motocross action which will bring the curtain down on what promises to be another exciting three days of the Zimbabwe Summer Series.

And young top local female motocross heroine, Tanya Muzinda, is expected to return to the track tonight for the first Supercross meet after having not raced locally for almost a year.

Muzinda (13), who toured Europe in August, has failed to ride locally for almost the whole of this season amid reports that she did not have a proper bike to race with.

In fact, Muzinda has in the past couple of years been competing in the 65cc Class but she moved a class up into the 85cc Class at the beginning of the year and she needed a much bigger bike to mount. And now Muzinda is set to make a welcome return to the track at Donnybrook for the year-end Zimbabwe Summer Series this week, thanks to a sympathiser who this week lent her a bike to use during this event and probably until the beginning of next season.

Muzinda’s father and mentor, Tawanda, told The Herald yesterday that although his daughter has not been riding locally for the better part of the year, she was in good shape “and she is ready to tackle the track during this week’s Zimbabwe Summer Series” which will also help to prepare her for the other future races.

“Tanya has been going to the gym and doing some road work as a way of keeping fit for the races and the fact that she has not been training with a bike does not mean she cannot be ready for the Zimbabwe Summer Series.

“She once did it before in Bologna, Italy, where she went straight to the track after going for six months without training and she can do it again at Donnybrook this week.

“The most important thing is that she is going to participate and not the outcome of her races . . . she is still a young and energetic; and mentally she is more than ready to tackle any race track,” Tawanda “Polycup” Muzinda said.

At this week’s Zimbabwe Summer Series, Tanya will be joined by another talented local female rider Leigh-Anne Young who will be riding in the 125cc Class.

Young is no doubt expected to impress in the Zimbabwe Summer Series as she did in this year’s Southern African Championship series where she scooped the 125cc class title and this saw her becoming the first ever female rider from Zimbabwe to win a regional motocross crown.

Young’s father, Ray, said yesterday that his 15-year-old daughter has been using the Supercross track at Donnybrook, training three times a week in preparation for this week’s Zimbabwe Summer Series and she was more than ready to put up a good show at this event.

At this year’s Zimbabwe Summer Series, Tanya and Leigh-Anne will be joined by a host of top local junior and senior male riders who are all set to fight for the top honours with visiting international bikers from the Netherlands, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia in the different classes that they will be competing in.

Ashley and Cameron Thixton, Tristan Grainger, Kuda Mhene (Jnr), Big “BJ” Chitima (Jnr), Josh Gobey, Brad Perry, Lee and Mudiwa Chigumba, Ryan Masimo, Munya Bako, Ricky Whyte, Jordan Dewdney and Daiyaan Manuel are some of the local riders who will be looking at carrying the country’s flag high at this event.

A number of international riders have already confirmed their participation at this week’s Zimbabwe Summer Series and they will be led by the 2010 Dutch national champion Jeffrey Meurs, who is returning to take part in this event for the second year running, and Briton Damon Strydom.

Meurs will be accompanied by his friend from the Netherlands and they are both set to compete in the main MX1 Class as well as the MX2 Class in which they are expected to face some stiff challenge from former Zimbabwe champion rider Ashley Thixton.

Top South African riders Josh Mlimi, Wyatt Avis, Cameron Durow, Higson Mahon and Brad Cox are also expected to set the stage alight during the three days of action at this year’s Zimbabwe Summer Series at Donnybrook.

Action today and Friday will start at 6pm while Sunday’s race meeting will get underway at 10am and entry fee for spectators 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.