Racing action from the first National BMX event at the Kraaifontein BMX Club tack in over 20 years.
Over the Easter weekend, Bradley Stow and Ntlantla Nonkasa accompanied 10 kids to the first BMX national event of the year, which took place at the Kraaifontein BMX track near Durbanville. It was a very special moment for Western Cape BMX as the last time a national race took play at this track was well over 20 years ago.
songo.info was represented by the following riders: Likho Mayekiso, Onesimo Ndzonyana, Lakhanya Skhobongwane, Kanya Xhapha, Mihlali Stuurman, Uviwe Tshali, Awethu Mtekeli, Tsholofelo Letlola, Luminathi Nkoko and Ovayo Ntsege.
The first official practice session was on Friday and I met the team at the track. I sorted out the last of the entry requirements like timing chips, number plates etc. and the kids got a few practice laps in as well as some start gate practice.
Spirits were sky high for the national competition.
Before we knew it, Saturday morning was upon us and I collected the team from the clubhouse and we headed to the track. We were very grateful to have the Toyota Quantam, which Specialized kindly donated to us for the weekend. This allowed us to travel to and from the track comfortably and safely.
I always find the first few hours of racing at a BMX National very intense. It is a big step up from the local races which we attend on a regular basis. It can be intimidating for anyone but the songo kids seemed to handle it well.
We raced two legs on Saturday and one on Sunday which basically means there were three separate races in total. Each race consists of three motos and a final, so 12 laps of the track in total over the entire weekend.
After 12 racing laps the kids knew the Kraaifontein Track almost as well as they know the songo.info BMX track.
I heard multiple comments from parents and riders saying how well the songo.info team performed over the weekend. I feel like it was a combination of the training they did leading up to the event, a track that suited our riders and also the comfort of being in your home province surrounded by familiar faces that allowed the songo team to perform so well.
In my opinion all our riders performed very well against the best BMX racers in the country. The racing was very intense with lots of crashes but our kids rode very consistently and raced with their heads as well as their hearts. In total the team walked away with 13 medals, which is very impressive considering the high level of the competition.
For me, the top performer over the two days was Likho Mayekiso, aka Zuma. He raced in the 16 year old expert boys class which has always been a tough category. I think he surprised a lot of people with his skill and confidence on the bike and did it all with a smile on his face and a great attitude.
We also had a few riders from outside the songo program who raced in songo.info kit as part of the our BMX club. They were Nicole Murphy, Christine Yiannakis, Chanette Bantjes, Finley Neil, Darryn Stow and myself.
For me it’s very clear that we are learning and growing after every event and this weekend was no different. We once again had a few small challenges and things we can all improve on but all in all it was a successful weekend for the entire songo.info team as well as the club members from outside the program who represented songo at this event.
A very big thank you to our sponsors Specialized Bicycles and Ninety One who made this weekend possible. Their support is greatly appreciated!