Share

Young victorious at Pilgrim's Rest

The battle between teenager Wade Young (Husaberg) and defending E2 champion Marc Torlage (Yamaha) continued on July 27 at the Pilgrim's Rest National Enduro, Round 4 of the National Enduro Motorcycle championship. 

It ws his second victory of the 2013 season.

CLOSE CALL

It was quite close as only 22 points eventually separated Young (who also won the E2/200cc Class) from Torlage (second in E2), with Young winning the 3km stages.

The pair posted the same time after their first attempt of the longer 9km stage. Torlage won the long stage on the last lap.

Young has increased his lead in the overall standings as well as the E2 Class championship. Torlage remains second overall and in E2.

A fire broke out on the route forcing organisers to change the course. The fire resulted in Master Class competitors only scoring points after one short stage and missing out on posting times on the longer stage.

There were nail-biting battles with Altus de Wet (Husqvarna) taking his third consecutive E1 (Open Class) victory. He was only 40sec behind Torlage and 40 points ahead of Scott Bouverie (KTM). Bouverie lost time and was drenched early in the race when he fell into a river on one of the crossings on the route.

Torlage’s team mate, Kenny Gilbert, walked away with second place in E1 (his third E1 second of 2013). Only eight points separate him from Bouverie. Gilbert was fifth overall after a race characterised by some long and steep descents as well as a few testing climbs in the mountains around the historic gold-mining village.

FIGHTING HARD

Youngster Bronson Louw (Yamaha) posted his best result of 2013 - sixth overall (fourth in E2), a mere six seconds behind Gilbert. Nicholas Pienaar (KTM) kept his lead in the E1 Class championship with third in the class and seventh overall.

Only eight points separated Pienaar from Timmy Young (Yamaha) who eyed the E1 podium but had to settle for eighth overall. Competition was tough: only seconds separated the competitors. There were only 44 points between Louw and the three riders behind him with Brett Swanepoel (KTM) ninth overall (five points behind Timmy Young).

Travis Teasdale (16), competing for Husaberg, was the youngest rider in the top 10. He competed in E2 for the first time and completed his first event 10th place overall (sixth in E2).

Brandon Warwick-Oliver (Yamaha) was 11th (seventh in E2); Dwayne Kleynhans (KTM) 12th (fifth in E1) with Wesley Redinger (Husaberg) behind him in the overall standings and in class. Yamaha’s James Hodson (E2) and Nick Wade (E1) completed the top 15.

Blake Gutzeit was unable to finish the race and Michael Pentecost (Yamaha) retired after a fall on the last lap. Thirty-one E1 and E2 riders, including motocross ace, Darrel Fitz-Gerald (KTM) who competed in his  first National enduro, completed the full race distance.

Defending Senior Class champion, William Gillit (Yamaha) had a clean run and earned a comfortable victory (117 points) ahead of Bruce May (Yamaha) who lost time when he drowned his bike early in the race. Matthew Barker (Yamaha) claimed his first podium position for the season and was third.

FIRE DRAMA

Jody Engelbrecht (Husaberg) settled for fourth place – it was the first time this season he finished off the podium – but kept his third place behind Gillit and May in the championship. Stevan Prost (KTM) rounded off the top five.

Stevan’s brother Garth (KTM), racing for the first time this season in the Master Class, became the second rider since 2010 to beat the current champion, Denzil Torlage (Yamaha).

Barries Barnard (KTM) made come back after an injury to finish third while a fourth place for regular competitor, Carl Rohrbeck (KTM), lifts him to second place behind Torlage in the Master Class Championship.

Junior National championship competitor Kyle Flannagan (Yamaha) won the Silver Class Challenge. Enduro newcomer Jaycee Nienaber (Yamaha) was second ahead of Vincent Labuschagne (KTM).

Toni Jardine (KTM) was the only female competitor and finished fifth in class behind Terence Shacklady (Yamaha). Flannagan’s team mate Damien Scott still has the most points in this class even though he could not compete due to an injury while second-placed Sage McGregor (KTM) also had to withdraw injured.

NEXT ROUND

Seven school-goers aged 14 - 16 competed in the National Junior Challenge Class but only completed one short special stage because of the fire. Chayse Orsmond (Husaberg) won ahead of Dean Lindsay (Yamaha) and Lydenburg’s Brendan Swanevelder (KTM). Only 33 points separated the winner from fourth-placed Reinhardt Ferreira (KTM).

The fifth and penultimate round of the National Enduro Championship, the traditional Castrol Winterberg Enduro, will take place on September 14 in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape.

The final round will take place on October 19 at Matatiele, a new race that will take competitors to the foothills of the western Drakensberg on the border of the Eastern Cape and kwaZulu-Natal.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE