Dirt and Trail Dec 2019

Mixing it up with Brett
Bircher, Freddie Fourie,
Adrian Nel... Springfield.
“Never forget
why you started
racing or riding.
There will be
times when you
don’t want to
do it but it is
about dedication
and reminding
yourself why
you started. The
tough days are
the important
ones.”
The Canadian Championship:
It was time for me to go overseas. My
sights were set on the USA, but things
worked out differently. I received a call
from Selwyn Momberg, a PE boy who lives
in Canada. He invited me to go and stay
with his family and race the Canadian
championship. I spent four years over in
Ontario. New tracks and living on the road.
In ’07 Red Yamaha hooked me up with
a brand new 250F in Canada and I went
racing. Huge learning curve again – their
tracks are a lot different to what we used
to here at home – and maybe a bit more
technical. We basically raced every race we
could find – my first race at RJ’s in Barrie
Ontario – a 3-day event, there were about
900 entries. The atmosphere is unreal.
And that was only a qualifying event. It
went well – in the first year I came sixth or
seventh in the Canadian championship.
Year 2 – I moved to Morgan Racing
Honda and a 9 round championship from
April to September. Four weeks of racing
and three weeks “off”, although this is
when we raced all the regionals, then it
was five weeks back at nationals.
You drive for days to get to your next
race. And it was my first year on a Honda
and no excuses – getting used that bike
was a challenge. The ’08 250 needed lots of
TLC…. I saw the year out in 8th place. Not
bad, but I was hoping for better.
In 2008 at you also took part in
MX Des Nations?
Yes I joined Neville Bradshaw and
Tyler Rattray and we represented SA at
Donnington Park. It was a great experience.
Year 3 in Canada – ’09:
Liam O’Farrel and I were each offered a
ride by two separate dealers, backed by
KTM. Orange motorsports in Ontario
branded one side of the bike – RTR
Motorsports in British Columbia branded
the other side. It sounds a bit strange but
it worked. The team was fun,we all got
along and beign with Liam,someone who
I grew up racing made it feel a little more
“homely” Thousands of kilometers on the
road,a few driving “mistakes” in parking
lots and many laughs it was bound to be a
good year
Liam and I bought a RV mobile home –
and that’s how we lived and moved from
race to race. Lots of stories about that…
but that’s for another time. Mom and dad
came to visit and help whenever they
could and joined us on the road.
Year 3 was the best year I’d say. It
was strange because I don’t usually but
I suffered terribly with arm pump on the
West Coast, but then back to the East
Coast and I was fine… same bike, same
everything. We never really figured it out.
I won the last two nationals going 3-1 on
the day. I often wonder why I couldn’t
do it from the start… But it was a great
to eventually win.That year, I finished up
fourth in the championship – Liam came
home in eighth in MX1. This was after two
DNF’s – a clutch and a puncture… but hey
that’s racing.
In 2010, I was one of the favourites for
the championship. I was on a full factory
KTM – I was fit and I had won a few of the
off season races – but it just wasn’t meant
to be. At the first national, my team mate
Eric Nye and myself had a little coming
together. This resulted in an injured knee
which really put me on the back foot. It
was tough, riding every weekend, through
the pain – and then I crashed only to
injure my left foot during a practice – and
resulted in some torn ligaments. That was
it. I managed an eighth spot. Everything
was kind of up in the air and in the end I
decided to return home and restart.
Back to South Africa:
In 2011, KTM South Africa took a chance
with me in the MX2 class. It was an
interesting battle between Richie VD
Westhuisen and I, both on 250 2-strokes.
After a slow start to 2011 I slowly gained
some momentum around halfway and
it was another championship that
went down to the last round. I have
raced with KTM ever since and have
been very fortunate to take a further 6
championships through the years. Two
MX1 championships and the rest in MX2.
In 2012 you went across to the
States?
Yes – I wanted to experience racing in
the US, and kind of flew backwards and
forwards. I raced two dead standard KTM
250’s. It was a busy year and I had mixed
results – but it was fun and I met some
great people and got to see and experience
so many cool things. To be competitive in
The States, you need do it properly.
Quick one: What do you have to
say to anyone who wants to race?
Never forget why you started racing or
riding. There will be times when you don’t
want to do it but it is about dedication and
reminding yourself why you started. The
tough days are the important ones. The
85cc championship taught me that. You
never know it all. It’s all about saddle time
and I have always been a believer in the
mental side of racing that it is the most
important part. Be loyal to your sponsors
because sponsorship is hard to come by
these days.
36 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019