Red Bull KTM – Motocross National Championship Round 4
Red Bull KTM put in a stellar performance in the sand of Rover MX track this weekend when the fourth round of the National Motocross Championship took place in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
First mention has to be standout performance from Tristan Purdon as he stormed to the overall victory in both MX1 and MX2 classes in a near-perfect run only finishing in second in one of the four respective heats. Purdon clearly on high after his wins commented: “It was a great day on the bike, bring on the next round”.
Cameron Durow who was only ten days post-op after suffering a broken collarbone proved he was tough as nails by deciding to ride still and try consolidate some points to stay in contention for the overall championship. Visibly in pain, he still managed third in both MX1 and MX2 classes. “I went into the day not expecting anything really, I qualified first in MX2 and second in MX1 with my collarbone holding up well” he said. He went on to say: “I made a big mistake in the first moto where both my feet came off the pegs landing on the bike that hurt me quite bad and had to manage the pain and effort from there.”
It was a case of “what could have been” for Jonathan Mlimi after getting a great start and leading the race had the bad luck of a red flag coming out after some riders crashed hard forcing a restart. Mlimi’s second start was not relatively as fast and he had to fight back only to suffer a significant crash that sent him to hospital calling a harsh end to his day.
Luke Grundy has been untouchable in the high school class and executed another flawless event with 1st place in both moto’s securing yet another 1st overall.
Trey Cox was a sensation in the sand securing top spot overall after a superb show throughout the day. “PE did not disappoint, I wasn’t feeling it but after getting a good start I managed to control the race” Cox commented. Cox crashed on the second lap of the last moto but after a heroic comeback still managed to catch and pass Neil van der Vyver to take the overall win.
Published by: KTM – Grant Frerichs
Photography by: Justin Reinecke – ZCMC Media