What Team Tork Craft Wrap
Where Across South Africa
When Saturday 10 October 2026
Community South Africa National

From Cross Country to Pencil Ducks and Motocross

It’s been another busy, busy weekend for Team Tork Craft in cross country racing, motocross and even on the water at the Pencil Duck World Championships around the country. With great results including overall and class wins across the board, among the team’s fairer sex also delivered some most impressive performances.

In perhaps the shock of the weekend, Team Tork Craft’s Deruk van Aswegan rode his little OR3 class RTR Kawasaki to overall victory at Verena’s GXCC Gauteng Cross Country Championship round on Saturday. Not to be outdone, Sigmafix Tork Craft Yamaha lad Tyron Beverley came home second overall and second in OR3, while sixth overall, Marco Cocci won Masters on his Linex Sigmafix Tork Craft Yamaha.

Not too far behind, Liam Scheepers took the 125 High School win for Sigmafix Tork Craft Yamaha, while Team Tork Craft also enjoyed an exceptional day in the Junior classes. Lourens Erasmus took 85cc senior honours, where Adam Meyer ended fourth, while brothers Ulrich won the 65 cc class and Liam Sterley rode home fourth despite not feeling very well at all.

Cross Country lass Sharisma Kriel meantime continued her great performance with a splendid third in OR3 Pro Am en route to being second of the Ladies home. Speaking of the ladies and moving off terra firma to Gordon’s Bay, Team Tork Craft pilot Katy-Ann Marais and co-pilot Carly Saaijman sped to a most impressive tenth overall in the weekend’s Pencil Duck World Championships.

Back on two wheels to the Inland Motocross, Team Tork Craft Husqvarna lad Kabelo Ledwaba romped to 125 cc High School victory, while Tommy Wotherspoon brought his Tork Craft RTR KTM home second. RTR kid James Gibson also ended second in 50 cc Minicross.

“Team Tork Craft enjoyed another great weekend with several wins and podiums across a broad variety of events,” Ride Train Race team principal Tony Riddell concludes. “Well done to every team member on another brilliant job, no matter what the race!”

Issued on behalf of Team Tork Craft

Photography by: Action in Motion

What Team Tork Craft Wrap
Where Across Southern Africa
When Tuesday 6 October 2026
Community South Africa National

Bam, Smith & Purificati are South African champions

It’s been a fortnight of the champions for Team Tork Craft with two National Motocross crowns and a motorcycle champion crowned on track too.

Girls first, Mackenzie Bam wrapped up the 2026 South African Ladies Motocross title for Team Tork Craft Husqvarna, while Slade Smith is National 450cc open class MX1 champion on his big gun Sigmafix Tork Craft Yamahas. On the beaten track meantime, Damien Purificati has claimed the SunBet ZX10 Masters motorcycle crown.

The Wetherd Park, East London Ladies National was all about Mackenzie and her Husqvarna. She raced to a splendid double win to wrap up the title, while Caitlin Parkes rode home fourth for the day among the Ladies on her Tork Craft RTR KTM.

Also at Wetherd, Richard Smith was fifth in MX 65 on his Tork Craft RTR Yamaha, and Hanru du Plessis fifth in 85cc on his KTM. Kabelo Ledwaba was seventh in the opening High School heat but suffered a technical issue in the second.

Absent from Wetherd as he contributed to Team South Africa racing to fifteenth in the Motocross of Nations in Ernee, France over the weekend, Slade Smith had already done enough through the season to wrap up the ’26 National MX1 title.

By a quirk, Tork Craft’s third champion so far in 2026, Damien Purificati also clinched the SunBet ZX10 Masters title away from the racing. He was left with an unassailable title advantage after the penultimate round was cancelled.

Elsewhere over the past two weeks, Callan Broskie flew the Team Tork Craft RTR flag on last week’s Roof of Africa. He came in 28th in the Gold class en route to sixth overall in the FIM World Hard Enduro Championship. And last but very much not least, Sharisma Kriel was best of the Cross Country Ladies with a fine 19th overall at Diggers Inn.

Issued on behalf of Team Tork Craft

Motegi was overcast and cool for the 26th Grand Prix event to take place at the motorsports facility 150km north of Tokyo. Red Bull KTM lined up for the 24-lap race from 3rd (Pedro Acosta), 7th (Enea Bastianini), 17th (Brad Binder) and 19th (Maverick Viñales) slots on the grid and wary of the abrasiveness of the newly surfaced 14-corner layout that created challenges for tire durability during the Sprint on Saturday.

Brad sliced his way towards the periphery of the top ten and was able to gain 5 points for 11th place.

MotoGP now moves south and to the island of Lombok for the Grand Prix of Indonesia at Mandalika next weekend.

Brad Binder
11th and 13th in the championship:

“Much better than yesterday. The physio did a great job on me and I felt more human! We did the warm-up on the hard tire and straight out of the pits I thought ‘this thing is not bad…’. It was pretty good. The race was quite OK. We toned everything down to preserve the tire but, in the end, I think we could have done more distance on it. The best I could do today was 11th. Not a great Japan, and we were expecting better but I think I ruined it a bit when I threw myself down the road in Q1. It made the rest of the weekend more challenging. Onto the next one.”

Published by: https://bradbinder33.com/

The Red Bull KTM MotoGP contingent travelled to Japan and the first of five non-European Grands Prix still elated after their victory of the season in Austria two weeks ago. Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder were reenergized for the long-haul journey by personal best results this season at the Red Bull Ring and immediately got to work around the resurfaced and demanding course at Motegi. The combination of 14 tight turns and heavy braking and acceleration of the layout brought an acute test for the MotoGP field.

The Sprint rounded Motegi for 12 laps, and Brad fought outside of the top ten. His race was effectively over when he ran deep into the gravel on the outside of Turn 1 with four laps to go. Binder was also given a Long Lap penalty for track limits.

The 24-lap Grand Prix begins at the customary local hour of 14.00, which means a start of 07.00 for viewers on CEST.

Brad Binder
17th in qualification, 18th in the Sprint:

“The morning started quite well and the first run in Q1 was quite good but I bailed on the second; which wasn’t ideal because it was a flyer. I feel like I got hit by a bus right now…but I really want to thank the whole team – my boys and Pedro’s – who helped get me a bike ready for the Sprint. In the race I didn’t get a bad start but I was having a lot of issues sliding and chattering with the front into Turn 1. Definitely a day to forget and hopefully better tomorrow. I’m pretty sure I can do a much better job than today. The bike has potential here.”

Published by: https://bradbinder33.com/