Wasmuth shines in South Africa

Collin Matiza Sports Editor
ONE of Zimbabwe’s top motocross riders Regan Wasmuth managed to hold his own during the second round of the Northern Region Championship at Syringa Park just outside Johannesburg, South Africa, where he finished sixth overall in the 125cc High School Class on Saturday.

Once again facing a line-up of talented riders, Wasmuth (14) stunned South African riders by qualifying third fastest in practice on Saturday.

Wasmuth carried this momentum into the first heat and after a good start and a lot of bar bashing, he held off the challenge of long-time sparring partner Ricky Raaf of South Africa to finish an outstanding third place behind Slade Smith and heat winner Charl van Eeden.

After a mid-pack start in the second heat, Wasmuth dug deep and moved up the field to finish a hard-fought fourth place.

This left him in second position overall going into the third and final heat. Unfortunately two laps into the race Wasmuth’s handle bar grip loosened, severely hampering his control on the now rough track.

He managed to salvage a seventh position for the heat and due to the small margin of points between the riders this dropped him to an overall sixth place for the day. Two other top Zimbabwean riders Jayden and Wade Ashwell were in Johannesburg too on Saturday.

Wade got a ninth place finish in the 125cc High School class while Jayden is reported to have finished in the top five in the MX1 Class. Next up for these riders is the second round of the 2015 Monster Energy South African National Championship series in Cape Town on April 11.

In fact, a number of Zimbabwean riders are expected to take part in this event and they include the talented eight-year-old Emmanuel Bako.

The Heritage Primary School’s Grade Three pupil is in fine form this season and he recently won the 50cc A Class and 65cc B Class during the opening round of the Bogwheelers Club Championship series at Donnybrook Raceway in Harare. Young Bako is expected to carry on with his fine form during the second round of the Monster Energy South African National Championship series in the Mother City on April 11. His father, Brighton, confirmed at the weekend that his son will “definitely” be competing in this event where he is aiming to leave a mark there.

“We are definitely going to compete in the second round of the South African National Championship in Cape Town and this gives Emmanuel another chance of taking on some of the best young motocross riders from South Africa,” Brighton Bako said.