BMW’s Gray Dick and Wynand Delport were out of luck in the fourth round of the 2010 SA Off Road Motorcycle Championship, held over a 230-km route in Lesotho last weekend.
The event, which started with a 50-km time trial on Friday afternoon followed by two loops of a 115-km course on Saturday, was marked by icy conditions and sub-zero temperatures on Saturday morning.
Riding BMW’s G 450 X four-stroke enduro bike, both experienced problems in the time trial and started well back in the field. Dick was only about two kilometres into the time trial when a pin came loose in the clutch assembly and he lost a few minutes while he made running repairs. As a result he started Saturday’s race from 28th position.
Delport started 26th after losing time when he stopped to help a fallen rider. “The guy fell right in front of me and I stayed with him until I saw that he was OK and back on his feet,” said the 23-year-old 2008 and 2009 national off road champion (250 cc class).
By the end of the first loop on Saturday, Dick was up to ninth overall and Delport was 14th. About a third of the way into the second loop Dick was climbing a hill when a rider fell in front of him. Trying to negotiate a way around the fallen bike, he dropped the BMW and holed the radiator on a rock.
“It was disappointing. I’d worked hard to get my way back into contention and reckon I was good for fifth or sixth overall,” said the 39-year-old former national off road champion (open class and overall in 2002 and open class in 2006 and 2007). It was also his first national championship event since successfully undergoing a back operation in December. “I felt great and the BMW was performing faultlessly. I trained hard for this event and am pleased with the way my body stood up to it after the long break. It wasn’t a very difficult ride, quite technical with a route that flowed nicely.”
Delport reported breaking a foot peg and brake lever against a rock going up the same hill where his team-mate came to grief. “Without rear brakes, I grabbed a handful of front brake as I went slowly down the other side of the hill and fell over. The next thing there was fluid everywhere and I realised the radiator was damaged.”
Both riders shrugged off the cold conditions on Saturday morning. “I bought the right clothing from BMW Lifestyle in Midrand and wasn’t really cold at any time,” said Dick. Delport was grateful for his BMW enduro jacket, but said he had to cover his face and nose to counter the minus three degrees Centigrade temperature at the 07h30 start.
Jade Gutzeit and Louwrens Mahoney finished first and second on Yamahas, separated by just 12 seconds at the finish after Mahoney got lost in the final kilometres. Third overall and first 250 was Riaan van Niekerk on a KTM.
Following the cancellation of the Hluhluwe round in KwaZulu Natal in July, the next round is in the Brits area of North West Province on August 20 and 21.