Battered motocross return empty-handed
The trip that started in doubt ended in disaster after the motocross team returned from the 2022 Motocross of Africa Nations (MXoAN) held in Uganda, empty-handed. The team finished in a record low of fifth position from six participating countries. The local bikers failed to earn podium place finishes in their disciplines. The Botswana Motor Sport (BMS) was forced to trim the travelling squad to just eight riders from an initial 22 due to financial constraints. The BMS struggled to source funds for the trip until the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) came to its rescue at the 11th hour.
At the Victoria Raceway Park, Garuga in Entebbe, Uganda, the local bikers had a tough time on the saddle.
The bikers finished only the first of the three rounds at the championship as they were forced to borrow the bikes to compete after logistical challenges meant the team was unable to get bikes to Uganda. In the juniors, the MX lites, Seth Meyer finished eighth while his teammate, Radikolo Linchwe was placed 16th overall.
The team’s only female biker, Tadiwa Tafa at the championship also saw dust as she finished 11th in MX ladies. Euan Harmse and Zameer Bodhanya could not compete in the MX125 as their bikes could not arrive in time
for the competition while Andre Kruger was last in the elite MX1.
Team captain, Kosmas Mamaloukos had given a glimmer of hope for Team Botswana as he had a good time on the saddle before his bike had a mechanical fault. The rider was forced to retire from the competition and he finished last in the MX2 category. Speaking to Mmegi Sport upon arrival in Botswana on Wednesday, Mamaloukos said the team could have done better if they had all their racing equipment on time.
“I cannot give a clear assessment of performance looking at the fact that we did not have our bikes on time and raced on bikes that
were not ours. We only raced a heat on Sunday and could not ride to 100% comfortability as some of us had mechanical issues.”
“I do believe the team would have done much much better and more so especially when riding on our own bikes as we see riders like Seth Meyer made the top 10 and I was second before the bike died. (This) just goes to show if we had our bikes we would have got a better position for ourselves and our country,” Mamaloukos said.
Meanwhile, the BMS national off-road championship will resume this Saturday in Kopong, in the fourth round dubbed Kopong200.