National Motocross Championship - Round 6 – Chestnut
It was another bullish weekend results wise for the Red Bull KTM boys after a very successful outing at the final round of the Motocross National Championship held at Chestnut Hill this weekend. The team walked off with the laurels in all the classes they competed in. Grant Frerichs from KTM South Africa said the team delivered incredible racing. “The guys wrapped up all of their respective championship title battles!” He went on to say, “It was significant and special walking off with a 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the championship in the MX2 class on board our brand new 2023 model bikes giving a glimpse of what is to come next season.”
Tristan Purdon rounded off a flawless weekend of racing wrapping up his journey with KTM South Africa in fine style. “I really had a good day, I knew I had to win MX2 to have any chance at the championship and did just that” a pondering Purdon said. “I won both heats, closing down a 7-point gap to just 1 point difference” he mused. Purdon added that he has every reason to be happy with his performance on the day saying, “In the end, I managed to win all 4 moto’s as well as being fastest in qualifying in MX1 and MX2, so really happy to end things like that.” Purdon who will be racing in Europe next season in a moment of reflection said, “I want to thank the whole team for the awesome 4 years we have had racing for Red Bull KTM bringing home 4 championship titles together.”
It was a roller coaster of a season for Cameron Durow. “It was a long season with loads of travelling, many highs, broken collar bone, and some low mixed in with some seriously intense close racing the 2022 season is certainly one for the books,” Durrow said.
That said, Durrow still managed to finish the season with the MX2 National Championship title and is clearly happy about that. “Round 6 was a tough round for me in both MX1 and MX2, Chestnut is a track I have always struggled with but this weekend I managed to do exactly what I needed to, finish it off with two 2nd places to bring home the MX2 Championship,” a clearly relieved Durow said. “This was my first full season on the KTM 450 SX-F and it is really amazing to be part of this orange family, I can’t thank my team enough for the support throughout the season,” Durow said.
Jono Mlimi battled with bad luck during his season's final race. “I am happy to get the last round done and dusted, I got a flat tyre during the first race that forced me to fight back to end up in 12th’he said. “In the second race I wanted to get a better result and I fought through the field to get a 5th place which I’m happy to still get 3rd overall in the championship in my first year of racing the KTM 250 SX-F” he said.
Luke Grundy claimed his first-ever Championship title. “The last round was a good one for me, I managed to secure the overall with a 1stand a 2nd and already knew I had the championship in the bag after the first moto,” he said. He went on to say, “I'm beyond stoked about winning the Championship since it's my first one and I can't put into words how happy I am, massive thanks to my team and family behind me!”
Young Trey Cox also managed to bring home his first National Championship title. “This year has been so solid for me from leading the championship the whole year and pulling off not finishing worse than second in a moto the whole year” Cox commented. “I’m so stoked to take home the championship, I have been working for this for so long and I can’t thank everyone involved enough,” Cox said smiling.
Special mention must go out to Evan Frost, Dean Wheeler, and Lou Rademeyer also winning their respective championships on board KTM Motorcycles.
NATIONAL MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUND 6 – CHESTNUT
Van der Vyver had the perfect weekend and got some redemption by taking the win ahead of rival Trey Cox in both heats. “The first heat went smooth for me being able to control things from the front but the second heat I had to battle from mid-pack and bashed bars with Trey for a couple of laps before managing to pass him and take the win,” he said. “It is frustrating that I still fell short with a few points, but it was a great season with a lot learnt in the process. Of course, I need to thank my Husqvarna team for all the effort they put in for me this year” van der Vyver said.
Cocker, in turn, said, “So happy to be back racing MX again, I’m slowly getting back to where I left off and I can’t wait for more of that next season “.
The Husqvarna Racing National cross country team solidified their dominance once again this weekend at the magnificent Virginia Trails venue in the heart of KwaZulu-Natal. The final round of the South African championship provided extremely challenging conditions from dust in the outset of the race to rain and slippery wet conditions after the first racing lap. 
Brett Swanepoel confirmed his satisfaction saying, “I am so happy to wrap up this championship in these challenging conditions. It was extremely easy to make a mistake today in the dust and then in the rain which followed so I am happy with my composure and glad I kept my mistakes to the absolute bare minimum wrapping up my 10th SA title”
Virginia Trails also saw the return of Davin Cocker to the OR3 class after ACL knee reconstruction surgery after round 1 earlier this season. Cocker had a point to prove and started off his day with a phenomenal time trail blitzing the OR3 competition. Cocker managed to keep a clean pair of heels all day despite some goggle issues and small errors, he brought his Husqvarna FC250 home in first place once again proving he is the man to beat heading into 2023.
Grant Frerichs, group team manager, commented, “I am so glad our riders are safe after today’s racing. Cooler heads prevailed today and both Davin and Brett did what they needed to do to win their classes. 2022 was a challenging year for the team in many aspects but we are proud to walk away with a class championship and the overall win thanks to Brett Swanepoel. Thank you to all of our team as well as our supporting sponsors, see you in 2023”
