National Motocross Championship – Round 5 – Welkom
The Red Bull KTM team has a big job at hand this weekend as the National Motorcross Championship descends on the mining town of Welkom. Going into the race with a number of red plates to defend Grant Frerichs from KTM South Africa is determined that the team will have to be clever in their approach.
“We’ve a got a whole pit full of red plates to defend this weekend, so the riders will have to start thinking “big picture” and make sure we stay healthy and relevant,” he said. He further elaborated saying: “It’s a tough situation to be in when you have so much to lose but all of our boys are strong physically and mentally and we looking forward to another wash of orange on the podium this weekend.”
Luke Grundy who is leading his class after a, so far, flawless season said: “I’m feeling really good, I got a good points lead going into round 5 and I’m going to give it my all to make the points lead bigger and to keep up my winning streak of 6 heat wins in a row”.
Another class leader going into the final round is Trey Cox who said: “I’m feeling really excited after spending some time in Europe for a few weeks, I have managed to raise my game a bit riding with faster riders so I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to extend my points lead before the final round”.
The arrival of the new 2023 bikes has created a bit of a buzz of anticipation and added excitement in the camp. “I’m looking forward to the National at Welkom this weekend, I’ve always really enjoyed the track and I’ve had some really good racing there so that makes me excited,” said Cameron Durrow. “I’m also really looking forward to showing off the new 2023 KTM’s, they are really good straight out the box and I really like the changes that the new bikes have brought” he added.
Jonothan Mlimi had an unfortunate crash at the last round and had to take a few weeks off as a result of a broken collarbone, but he is back on the bike and up to speed and looks to be included in the podium fight once again in the mx2 class.
Tristan Purdon rounding off the team’s comments by saying: “I’m excited to race the new 2023 KTM’s, they suit my riding and I feel really comfortable on them so I’m looking forward to hopefully extending my points lead and battle for the wins in both classes.” He said in closing that he has always enjoyed the Phakisa track because the soil allows you to push deep into the turns and carry a lot of momentum which suits him.
Published by: Grant Frerichs
Photography by: Justin Reinecke – ZCMC Media