Obeco Moto Cross Thrills in Swakopmund

The Namibian Moto Cross circuit moves west to the coast, where on the 3rd of May the fourth championship race will be hosted under the official title “OBECO Moto Cross Thrills”. It is the first time that the sanitary and tiles store Obeco sponsors this kind of event. The racing track is situated approximately 10 km north of Swakopmund opposite the salt fields.

Here the members of the Coastal Racing Club, under the able leadership of Chris Hall, have built a wonderful track which will attract a lot of spectators on the coming long weekend. All eyes will be fixed on the protagonists of the Open/125cc Class, where Honda-rider Rainer Becker already had three overall wins.

However, it is only fair to mention that these wins were achieved with a considerable amount of luck, since his biggest opponent Tommy Gous had to grapple with technical problems in all three races. On the 3rd of May things will look different; the Zenner- Yamaha is technically in peak condition and Tommy is highly motivated to steal the show. Excitement is guaranteed for the duel Becker vs Gous. Of course Ronnie Adams (Suzuki), the reigning champion, will want his piece of the action as well.

Noteworthy is Sascha Becker’s participation after a time of absence due to injuries. Wolfgang Rohe, on a Kawasaki this season, is improving bit by bit and he aims for a podium spot. The local favourite in Swakopmund is Rudi Brand. He took part in the construction of the track and knows every square meter of it. His home advantage should not be underestimated. Experience has shown that the 125cc riders have their problems with the deep desert sand and one should not count on any bigger surprise.

The quickest man in this class, Frank Klosta, broke his foot last week and won’t be able to participate in Swakopmund. Henry O’Kennedy displayed great improvement on Gallina, but his toughest opponents, Jaco Loots and Ruhan Gous, have improved as well. Eckhard Hall, local favourite in the 125cc class, should not be underestimated on his home track, maybe he will surprise everybody.

Heiko Hennes on his KTM belongs to the category of riders who thoroughly enjoy riding in deep desert sand, so watch out for him! Scotsman Richard Reid’s participation is still not confirmed, and Arno Engels as well as Brannigan Wise have n’o received their doctors’ clearance yet. This big field of riders will be bursting with adrenalin.

The little ones in the 50cc Class rides for national championship points as well. After a couple of “shaky” results last year, Michael Barlow has a tight grip again on this class.William Smith did defeat him a couple of times which were uplifting experiences for William and he will now fight for every meter.

Apart from those two, spectators will probably witness another episode of the ongoing duel between Jay-Em Tredoux and Yoshua Becker. Tristan Muller is the absolute star in the 65cc Class. He practically declassifies his contesters. Joshua Teixeira gets quicker from race to race and will try everything to beat Matthew Nederlof.

The 85cc Class is ruled by Mark Sternagel, while Eric Garbers and Tristan Muller will battle for second place. However, we must not forget Pauli Loots, or Schalk Louw who, coming from the coast, has a certain home advantage which could render all predictions void. All before-mentioned riders are podium candidates.

The Clubmen’s Class has undergone quite some development. Fifteen riders offered really exciting sport during the race on Gallina. The favourites are the Angolan Jose Teixeira and Michael Behnke. Frank Steyn and Francois Schoeman are good candidates for the podium too. The organiser hopes that a couple of local dune riders will take part in this class.

The riders in the various 4- Wheeler classes are just as popular as the Moto Cross riders. The Quads-A-Class was thus far dominated by Dirkie Baard from Walvisbay but Dirkie found strong opposition in Michael Behnke and Jean Venter. Ex-champion Fanie Steenkamp is also able to break up this group of three. In the Quads-B-Class Eugene Slippers keeps holding on to his first place. His toughest opponents are Ecki Spoerer, Gogo van Wyk and Gideon van Sittert.

Among the Quads Ladies there will be another duel between Cee-Anne Greyling and Mandy Huysamen, while Celene Adams and Maike Bochert fight for 3rd place. There was a time when the Quads Clubmen’s was the strongest class, but that has changed unfortunately. The favourites here are without a doubt Jaime Reneckle, Nokkie Maree and Louw Greyvenstein.

In the Mini-Quads Class the favourite is little Miss Joane Steenkamp, while the only boy, Jacques Maree, tries hard to establish himself ahead of Sune Garbers and Paige Muller. So don’t forget the “OBECO Moto Cross Thrills” on the 3rd of May in Swakopmund – the event for the whole family. Food and beverages are available at the track.