Thixton, Manuel shine at Donnybrook
AS expected, former Zimbabwe champion rider Ashley Thixton and Daiyaan Manuel dominated the proceedings during the latest round of the 2019 Bogwheelers Club National Motocross Championship series at Donnybrook Park on Sunday.
In an event which was poorly attended by both riders and spectators, Thixton emerged as the top dog in the main MX1 Class ahead of his young brother Cameron while 14-year-old Manuel “scored a double” after winning the 85cc and 125cc classes, both ahead of his main rival, 13-year-old Emmanuel Bako.
In the MX1 Class, which had only three riders, Ashley Thixton won all the three heats to claim the first step on the podium with 60 points and he was emulated by Regan Wasmuth who picked up the same number of points when winning all the heats in the MX2 Class ahead of Regan Bond and Zenin Ekron.
There were only five riders in the MX2 Class.
The biggest winner of the day on Sunday was St John’s College pupil Manuel who first bagged the 85cc Class before sweeping to victory in the 125cc Class, beating Bako into second place in both classes.
Bako was back on the track after recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained just before the start of the 2019 FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations Championships which were held at Donnybrook on August 31 and September 1.
And the young rider was satisfied with his overall performance on Sunday despite coming second behind Manuel in both the 85cc and 125cc classes.
“I think I had an awesome race (on Sunday) because I was back on the bike for the first time since that disappointing shoulder injury which I sustained during practice just before the start of the African Championships. I gave it my best shot and I would like to thank my sponsors Chicken Hut, who made my 13th birthday great, as well as Prolific Boreholes and Fuchs Silkolene Zimbabwe for their continued support,” Bako said.
Next up for Bako is the North vs South Championships in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on Saturday.
Sunday also saw five- year- old Victor Nyamupfukudza doing wonders on the track as he won all the three heats in the PeeWees Class, which is designed for young riders under the age of seven. Wade Cameron came second in this class.
Another promising young rider Kudzi Chitsurura claimed the first step on the podium for the first time in his career when came out as the overall winner of the 50cc Class ahead of Junior Bako and Seb Wright.
Karl van As was also untouchable in the 65cc Class which he won ahead of Declan Barrett and Ross Stewart while the top three places in the Masters Class went to Shane Thomas, Lofty Versfeld and Trevor Thixton.