The Kalahari 1000, the 3rd round of the
ATV Powersport ITP National off-road Championship for motorbikes and
the 4th for quads, produced new winners and while Louwrens
Mahoney (KTM SA Racing) scored his debut national off-road victory,
Brendan Badenhorst (ATV Powersport Lonestar 450) won his third race of
the season.
After the second day’s racing, Mahoney and Badenhorst were the
leaders of the overall motorbike and quad categories respectively and
they kept their positions until the finish.
In the quad category, the
defending champion, Hendrik Potgieter (Bombardier Speed Quad) passed
Badenhorst at the halfway-mark on the last day when Badenhorst’s crew
had to replace the clutch on his Lonestar 450 and later Badenhorst lost
time and a few positions with a five minute penalty as the result of a
faulty yellow rear-light on his quad.
But he caught up again to win the
Kalahari 1000 for the first time.
Mahoney, probably the youngest off-road
motorbike-rider to win the gruelling desert race, had to fight off
Clayton Enslin (EPH Shimwells Yamaha) who ran out of fuel in the
riverbed and had to push his bike to the refuel point. Enslin had to
settle for the second place and was followed by Geoffrey Wolhuter
(Sadiba Russell Campbell Kawasaki). Wolhuter was third after the second
day and kept this position during the last day. 250cc Class-riders took
all the podium positions at the 2005 Kalahari 1000.
The winner of the Kalahari 1000 for the last three
years, Gray Dick (Shimwells Yamaha/Panasonic Car Audio) crashed during
the second day while his arch-rival, Darryl Curtis (KTM SA Racing)
admitted that he was quite lucky to escape with only an injured wrist
after a high-speed collision with a tree.
Gavin Louw (Shimwells Yamaha) had his best desert
race ever and finished in the fourth place overall while he took the
laurels in the 200cc Class with his 250cc four-stroke Yamaha. He had to
keep Riaan van Niekerk (KTM SA Racing) off his back, but Van Niekerk
also ran out of fuel and lost some valuable time. He eventually
finished in a deserving sixth place overall.
In the quad category, the 2002 and 2003 winner,
Cornel de Villiers (Bombardier Speed Quad) lost time during the second
and the third day with flat tyres, but he kept his pace and finished
second overall followed by Potgieter who also lost time due to flat
tyres. Potgieter was leading the race sporadically during the second
and third day and his total time was only 32 seconds slower than that
of De Villiers.
Like last year, Theo Boshoff (Jet Sport Bombardier)
was the first quad rider at the finish and the fastest for the day, but
on accumulated times he finished in the fourth place overall. He was
followed by Tiaan Reynecke (EMD Racing) whose crew had to work through
the night to repair the suspension and engine on his Yamaha Raptor
after the time-trail. He kept a steady pace and nursed his quad home
after the engine started to sound like an industrial diesel-machine.
Dallie Terblanche (ATV Powersport Lonestar Honda)
had a consisted race and he finished sixth overall. The swing-arm bolt
on his 510cc Honda broke at the halfway-point during the last day and
he hoped that his “repair-inventions” lasted as his crew did not have a
replacement spare.
The 2004 Kalahari 1000 winner, Carl Wichmann
(Bombardier Speed Quad) was the second quickest on the last day, but he
lost valuable time with two crashes the previous day and could only
manage an seventh position overall.
Christo van der Merwe (Bombardier Speed Quad
Nelspruit) won the Senior Class and finished eighth overall. He was
followed by two brothers from Ermelo, Vincent and Glen Loubser, both on
Yamaha YFZ450 quads. These two watched-out for each other and when Glen
got stuck in the riverbed, big brother Vincent was there to help him
out.
In the overall motorcycle category, Alex Vowles (The
Roost KTM) was the fifth rider home while he also won the Open Class
for the first time this season. The rest of the top ten positions were
filled by 250cc-riders – Hylton Smith (Ramco Suzuki) was seventh and
was followed by Wayne Farmer (The Roost KTM); Brandon Els (Ramco
Suzuki) and his team-mate, Laurence Murton.
Kenneth Gilbert (EPH Shimwells Yamaha/Wasa Racing)
was the winner of the 125cc Class for the third time this season and
was followed by Deon Enslin (Ramco Suzuki) and Terry Waters (The Roost
KTM).
Brian Bontekoning (KTM SA Racing) won the Senior
Class for the third consecutive time this year and was followed by
Shaun Kirk (Ramco Suzuki) and Dudley Smith (Husaberg).
The winner of the national non-championship Master
Quad Class, was Milton Thesen (Yamaha) while Emden Els (ATV Powersport
Lonestar 450) won the national non-championship 30 Plus Class and
Anneli Cooper (Bombardier) won the non-championship Ladies Class.
ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE VRYBURG MOTOR CLUB BY
ET•Komm
(Elza Thiart. Tel: +27 82 4588 517)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT JACQUES HOUGAARD AT +27 82 550 3314 OR
VISIT www.ms2000.co.za
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