What a cool way to kick off the MX season!
Deon joined the fifth annual adrenaline fueled spectacle of the Sandrax Shootout.
On the drive home, thinking of what to say about the Shootout, there was only one word that kept popping up in mind, DAMN!
A day like this should be on all bike enthusiasts’ calendars. Perhaps a bit of pre-event marketing is in order chaps!
It was so worth taking the ride out to Sasolburg to watch the show. It’s the only Head to Head kind of dirtbike racing in South Africa. A dirt bike race that pulls the attention of newbies and Motocross S.A Champions alike. International quality of pure adrenaline – 2 on 2 contendership.
Sitting: (sitting; noun: A continuous period of being seated, especially when engaged in a particular activity.) This was a day where sitting was optional, a very hard option to choose. A day to rather be standing next to a dusty track being blasted by sand and revelling in the sound of roaring motorcycle engines as they shake the very ground you stand on. So, we decided spending our time on our derrieres on a day like this is – well impossible.
Juniors taking on each other on 50cc – 65cc bikes and let me tell you these kids are fearless. The bigger classes consisted of Class A riders with the fastest times, Class B and C where you can ride 85cc up to 450cc’s. You might think what chance does a 85cc bike have against the much bigger bikes? Well we saw #280 Kabelo Ledwaba on his little 85cc giving the big boys a real run for their money, not only did he qualify for the B Class racing, he ended up taking 4th place.
What an event the only problem is that unfortunately it only happens once a year. But, what a way to kick off the dirt bike racing season. WOW!
Top 3 and Prize Winners.
Juniors:
1st: #345 Raydon Wools
2nd: #333 Parker Cik
3rd: #7 T Janse van Rensburg
Class B:
1st: #22 Hayden Youlton – R3000.00
2nd: #757 Sheldon Watkins – R2000.00
3rd: #64 Shane Steenkamp – R1000.00
Class A:
1st: #58 Cameron Durow – R5000.00
2nd: #259 Jono Mlimi – R3000.00
3rd: 42 Marco de Vrye – R2000.00
Rider of the day:
#18 Angie Youlton
Fastest lap of the day award:
#1 Ricky Raaf
What are the rules:
Seniors and Juniors: First of all they get a chance to set a time to see what class they will qualify in. Riders exit the gate two at a time in short succession until there are ten riders out on track and they get a 10 minute session before having to leave the track for the next ten riders turn.
Once all riders have set their best times, they are divided into their classes. Once all riders have placed in their classes the race is in a Round Robin Format and finishes with a knockout round between the first four riders.
The Premier Class sees a three round knockout race for the top four riders to determine who will be the Shootout Champion.
Juniors, Class C and Class B have a sudden death round for the top four racers.
Until we see one another again for the Sandtrax Shoot out in 2025 stay safe and enjoy the rest of the 2024 race calendar.
