The first race of the season saw the fresh Red Bull KTM team kick off the season with some inspired championship wins. The first round of the National Motocross Championship took place at the familiar Phakisa MX track just outside the capital Welkom. KTM South Africa’s Grant Frerichs summed it up by saying “The Red Bull KTM boys really kicked off the new season with a bang and put on a superb show picking right up where we left off in 2022.” “We are already looking forward to rounds 2 and 3 with the double header taking place in Cape Town with some red plates on the start in all our classes” he mused.
Young Trey Cox had a round he’d rather forget even though he came off what felt like a really good off-season he said. “I got so excited when I heard it was going to be muddy,” he said. “I qualified P5 and was off to a very average start in the first moto but on the very first jump I collided with another rider and went down hard on my shoulder” Cox lamented. The result was a dislocated shoulder and the end of his outing and shifts the focus a couple of rounds ahead to his hometown race in Pietermaritzburg where he is sure to bounce back.
Jono Mlimi had some fun in the testing conditions and it showed in his results picking up 3rd overall. “Welkom has always been good to me and I enjoy the track, it was way different in the wet though with some deep lines and bumps throughout,” he said. “You can’t help but have some fun in these conditions and really had to show some bike skills, that said I had two silly falls that cost me the chance at the top step but we fight on” he added.
“The off-season was spent in the trenches”, said a visibly enthused Cameron Durow after really putting in the hard yards work. Durrow who has also been prepping for an international stint set the soaked stage alight with a flawless performance in both classes. “I really enjoyed the track even though it was drenched, qualifying was solid, I managed holeshots in both MX2 motos and managed the race from there by staying cool and calm to take wins in both and the overall” he recalled. He went on to say “MX1 I really made life harder with two bad starts fighting back from 8th at one point in Moto1, but I managed to claw it back each time and take the win in both motos to take the overall in MX1 as well,” he said smilingly.
In the High School class, it was Luke Grundy who sone for the orange outfit. “I learnt a lot out there and I’m happy with how I rode,” Grundy said. “I loved the mud and getting a 1-1 in Welkom on my 2023 KTM 125 made it a real special weekend” he added.
The familiar blue and white of Husqvarna Racing showed some promise at the soaking-wet season opener in Welkom this weekend. The trio of Josh Mlimi, Davin Cocker and, newcomer to the squad, Barend du Toit had a wet welcome to the 2023 Motocross National Championship season.
Mlimi who was quite happy to have the first race of the season out the way after wading his way back into competitive racing last season is slowly coming to grips with his FC450 Husqvarna machine. “I’m super happy to be back racing again and especially walking away from a brutal race, both healthy and safe is awesome,” a relieved Mlimi said. The track was described as brutal by Mlimi who made a few mistakes seeing him hit the deck in each of the races. “I know I could have done better but the season is still long and full of promise” he continued.
Cocker found it hard to pass in the single rutted track as a result of the muddy conditions but enjoyed the battle out there. “I really didn’t expect the mud to be that bad, I felt comfortable and ran some decent times but made too many mistakes in the end,” he said.
The new addition to the team du Toit realised a dream of his by starting for the Husqvarna Racing team. “I had a blast and really just tried to soak it in that I was actually racing for the team, I learnt a lot and cannot wait for the next round in Cape Town,” the youngster said.
Husqvarna South Africa’s Grant Frerichs said the team showed promise speed-wise and said that the team was held back by some small errors. “I am happy with the riding of the 3 athletes under the Husqvarna pit. All three riders still showed some promising speed but were hampered by mistakes. We will go back to the drawing board and eliminate the mistakes to ensure we come out swinging at round 2” Frerichs said in closing. 
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