Bako, Wasmuth gear up for hectic schedule

TWO of the country’s top motocross riders Emmanuel Bako and Regan Wasmuth are gearing up for a hectic schedule in the next two weekends in which they will compete in two-tough regional and continental championships in South Africa and Zambia.

First up for the two talented young motorcycle riders is the fifth round of the 2018 South African National Championship series at Zone 7 in Cape Town this coming Saturday before they fly back to Harare to team-up with the rest of Team Zimbabwe members for this year’s FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations Championships set for Zambia next weekend.

The 2018 FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations Championships are scheduled to run for three days from August 17 to 19 at Mindola Motocross Park in Kitwe, Zambia, where Zimbabwe will field a strong team of 44 junior and senior female and male riders who will pit their skills on the track against other top bikers from Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Swaziland and the hosts Zambia.

Bako (12) and Wasmuth (17) are currently members of two-top South African motocross teams - Team Vision Racing Team and Linea Pro Racing Team - and in this year’s South African National Championship series the former is competing in the 65cc and 85cc (Juniors) classes while the latter is racing in the 125cc High School Class.

And this Saturday will see the two young Zimbabwean riders taking on top South African junior and senior bikers in the fifth round of that country’s National Championship series at Zone 7 in Cape Town.

In fact, Bako and Wasmuth are strongly in the running for the 65cc and 125cc High School titles in this year’s South African Nationals where they are both sitting in second place in the group standings of their respective classes.

Bako, with 178 points, is kicking hard behind the heels of his South African rival Lucca Mynhardt in the 65cc Class in which the latter has also amassed 178 points going into this weekend’s fifth round of the South African Nationals in Cape Town.

Wasmuth, on the other hand, has a mountain to climb in his pursuit of the 1255cc High School title in South Africa as he has to close the gap between himself and the current points leader Justin Sangster who has amassed 179 points as compared to the former’s 155.

And Wasmuth yesterday told The Herald that he is ready for the challenge at this weekend’s fifth round of the South African Nationals in Cape Town and then at next weekend’s tough African Championships in Zambia.