Bako reigns supreme in South Africa

ZIMBABWE’S junior motocross rider, Emmanuel Bako, continues to reign supreme on the South African circuit.

He notched up another victory, in a regional competition, at Welkom in Free State on Saturday.

The 14-year-old dirt bike rider, who has been competing in South Africa every weekend since the beginning of the year, swept the board in the 85cc ProMini Class.

He amassed 75 points to claim the top step on the podium ahead of Jordan van Wyk (66 points) and Lucian Meyer (60 points).

By winning Saturday’s regional race Bako, who is slowly establishing himself as a holeshot king, atoned for his second place finish in the same class during the tightly-contested second round of the 2021 South African National Championship series at Rover in Port Elizabeth on April 3.

Welkom will be the venue of round three of this year’s South African Nationals on May 22 and Bako had the chance of having a feel of its track on Saturday where he recorded three straight wins, collecting the maximum 75 points to be crowned the overall winner of the 85cc ProMini Class.

According to reports from Welkom, Bako took all holeshots and never looked back, lapping most of the riders in this class, much to the delight of his South African trainer Tyron Juul.

“I had another good day at the office and everything went according to plan. My bike didn’t give me any problems, everything went smoothly,’’ Bako said.

“I would like to thank Better Brands Jewellery of Zimbabwe, who are my main sponsors, for giving me the opportunity to race in South Africa every weekend.

“I would also like to thank God, for this blessing, which has allowed me to be able to compete in South Africa with some of the fastest riders in Africa.’’

His next race meeting in South Africa is again at Welkom, on the same track this coming weekend, as he continues to prepare for the third round of this year’s South African National Championship series on May 22.

Bako is placed among the top three in the 85cc ProMini Standings of the 2021 South African National Championship series.