adminCollin Matiza Sports Editor
JAYDEN Ashwell rode his bike like a demon as he helped Zimbabwe reassert themselves among top motocross-riding nations in Africa when they took a credible second place finish behind the hosts South Africa at the 2013 FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations at Muldersdrift just outside Johannesburg, South Africa, at the weekend.
Ashwell, who was mounting a KTM motorbike, took two podium places in the three heats of the men’s MXI Class to help Zimbabwe to finish second overall behind South Africa and pipped their nearest rivals Zambia by just one point as they walked away with the silver medal in the team category in bitingly cold, but sunny conditions.
Zimbabwe were represented by a strong 19-member team at this year’s FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations championships which brought together all the top motocross riders from seven African countries — Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the hosts South Africa.
And the Jayden Ashwell-led Team Zimbabwe made their presence felt at this two-day event that got underway on Saturday at Syringa Park Motocross Club in Muldersdrift by clinching second place behind South Africa after they amassed a total of 354 points as compared to Zambia’s 353.
South African won the overall competition with 622 points to the 354 of silver medallists Zimbabwe and the 353 of Zambia. Uganda were fourth with 145 points, followed by Kenya with 107 and Angola with 7.
Although the gap between South Africa and Zimbabwe looks big, the latter did extremely well considering the fact that their neighbours fielded a number of professional riders while they (Zimbabwe) had amateurs.
On Sunday, five points separated Zimbabwe and Zambia going into the final heats of the day and it also came down to the last race of the championships in the Veterans Class in which Zimbabwe’s Trevor Thixton emerged among the top four and that was good enough to help his country to pip Zambia for second place.
But Team Zimbabwe owe their second-place finish mostly to the riding prowess of Jayden Ashwell, who lit up the scene on Sunday by riding brilliantly in the tough men’s MXI Class in which he first finished third in Heat One before he took another podium place by finishing second in Heat Two.
Unfortunately, Jayden Ashwell’s hopes of making three consecutive podium places in this class were dealt a cruel blow when he crashed during the opening laps of Heat Three, handing the initiative to South Africa’s Ross Branch, Sacha Naude and Bradley Cox.
But Jayden Ashwell’s first two podium places in the MXI Class were good enough to keep Team Zimbabwe in strong contention for the first three places in the overall team standings and his cause was helped by veteran Trevor Thixton and a host of the country’s promising young riders who competed in the 50cc Class for riders aged five to nine and were led by the brilliant Daiyaan Manuel.
In fact, eight-year-old Manuel, a Grade Three pupil at St John’s Preparatory School in Harare, was the only other Zimbabwean rider to take a podium place in different class races when he produced a brilliant performance in Heat Two of the boys 50cc Class in which he finished third.
Not to be outdone by Manuel was nine-year-old Tanya Muzinda, who was the only female rider in Team Zimbabwe, and she competed with boys in the 65cc Class in which she managed to cross the finish line in all her three races on Sunday.
And Muzinda, a Grade Four pupil at Eaglesvale in Harare, was rewarded for her brave performances in the 65cc Class as she was named the Most Outstanding Youngest Female Rider at the end of this event and she received a trophy and a gold medal.
This was a remarkable achievement for Muzinda, who was making her maiden appearance at a major international motocross event outside Zimbabwe and raced against boys in the 65cc Class, giving it her best shot in all the three heats of the day on Sunday.
In fact, Muzinda, “the Princess of Zimbabwean motocross”, was the darling of the big crowd at Syringa Park on Sunday and this attracted the attention of the South African media with reporters from the SABC and other newspapers jostling to have interviews with her.
Five other promising young Zimbabwean riders — Manuel, Kuda Mhene, Ryan Masimo and Big “BJ” Chitima — also carried the country’s flag high at this year’s FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations where they put up some brilliant performances in the boys 50cc Class in which they pushed their South African counterparts all the way during Sunday’s exciting heats.
And at the end of the day on Sunday, Zimbabwe finished second overall in the 50cc Class behind South Africa while the 65cc Class team of Mudiwa Chigumba, Tyler Mawarire, David Cocker and Muzinda emerged third overall behind South Africa and Uganda.
Zimbabwe could have fared even better in the 65cc Class had young Cocker not sprained his ankle after crashing in Heat Two and he played no further part in the event.
In the MX Lites Class, Zimbabwe were represented by Wade Ashwell and Mike Mawarire and the two young boys finished second overall behind South Africa, beating Zambia into third place, and their (Wade Ashwell and Mike Mawarire’s) performances were described as “awesome” by the organisers of this year’s FIM Africa Motocross of Nations championships.
Zimbabwe’s Tafadzwa Mawarire, Josh Thomas and Aiden van Breda also took part in the men’s 125cc Class at this event and they helped the country to finish second in this category behind South Africa.
But it was the Zimbabwe’s MXI Class team of two of the country’s champion riders Jayden Ashwell and Ashley Thixton which received a lot of praise from the event’s organisers and fans alike, and they deservedly finished in second place behind the supremely talented riders from Team South Africa.
Zimbabwe also finished second overall behind South Africa in the Veterans Class in which they were represented by Trevor Thixton, Blaize and Shane Thomas, and Barry Frederiksen.
In fact, Trevor Thixton was also named among the top three riders in the Veterans Class at the end of the championships on Sunday afternoon.
Team Zimbabwe for this year’s FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations was picked by the Bogwheelers Club who run the motorcycling sport of motocross in Zimbabwe and Gary Grainger, the club’s chairman, was the team manager in South Africa.
The team also received some tremendous support from Harare businessman Tobias Musariri, the owner of Zimbabwe Motor Distributors, who also brought his three South Africa-based sons — Majaji, Justin and Nyasha — to compete in this event but they participated as independent riders and were not part of Team Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, next year’s FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations will be hosted by Zambia in August.
2013 FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations overall team points:
1. South Africa 622 points
2. Zimbabwe 354
3. Zambia 353
4. Uganda 145
5. Kenya 107
6. Angola 7
Online Reporter