Surprise winners in Soutpansberg 400

Published Aug 3, 2015

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Tzaneen - The Soutpansberg 400, the first national off-road motorcycle and quad race to be held in the Louis Trichardt area of Limpopo Province, delivered great racing and some surprise upsets, setting up what promises to be a nail-biting season finale.

Yamaha rider Michael Pentecost took his third OR1 (Open Class) win of the season, with 'works' KTM rider Ross Branch second after his team-mate, Louwrens Mahoney, went out due to mechanical gremlins.

Yamaha privateer Jonathan Webster finished third after hurting himself in a collision with another rider, while 'official' Yamaha rider Kenny Gilbert was towed in by lady rider Toni Jardine (also on a Yamaha!) after he ran out of fuel - and still secured fourth, ahead of KTM riders Jan Human and Waldi van der Merwe.

KTM star Louw Schmidt claimed OR2 (250cc) honours, also for the third time this season, while team-mate, Tyron Miller, didn't finish. Jaycee Nienaber (Yamaha) finshed second in class after he lost time during the time-trial by getting stuck in a fence, but still finished ahead of team-mate Roan Lindsay, who was followed hone by Shaun Mostert and Brett Cummings, each on a KTM.

MANUFACTURERS AWARD

The 'official' KTM squad also took home the OR3 (200cc) and Senior Class trophies, as well as the Manufacturers Award. Jarryd Coetzee took his second OR3 victory of 2015 with class leader Brett Swanepoel (Yamaha) second after he also ran out of fuel; luckily a fellow competitor came to his rescue.

Yamaha took the next five OR3 places as well with Darren Macleod third, followed by Dartagnan Lobjoit, Wilhelm Scholfeldt, Corbin Lamb (despite a crash in the time-trial) and Jardine.

KTM's Juan 'Bollie' van Rooyen kept his lead in the Senior Class standings, finishing ahead of KTM privateers Kobus Jonck and Wayne Farmer, while the Master Class - one of this year's hardest-fought categories - produced a brand new winner in the person of former Senior Class champion, Pieter Holl (KTM), on his return to the series after an injury at the beginning of the year.

Holl beat multiple national enduro champion, Denzil Torlage (Yamaha) with Leon Gerber (KTM) third. Class leader Ian Venter (KTM) took a huge tumble but recovered to cone home fourth in class.

Tiny Taye Perry (KTM) dropped a few places when she ran out of fuel, but still managed to win the Ladies Class with Shakira Vawda (KTM) second and Jardine third.

QUADS

A victory in front of his home crowd was not meant to be for Stefan 'Swanie' Swanepoel (Yamaha) who led Q1 after the time-trial, only to lose time due to fuel problems halfway through the race, dropping to sixth at the end.

Works Yamaha rider Brian Baragwanath claimed his fourth victory of the season, followed home by his 2015 Dakar Rally team-mate, Hannes Saaijman (Yamaha) with Damien Lee (Honda) third.

Justin Robert (Honda) won the Q2 Class for the second time this year on his return from a broken collarbone and broken ribs sustained in a crash in Swaziland in March.

Stuart Freeman (Yamaha) took a fifth straight win in the Senior Class, ahead local farmer, Willie du Preez (Yamaha) - who was racing for the first time this season and Hoedspruit rider, Paul dos Santos (Suzuki).

George Twigge (Yamaha) won the Master Class for the fourth time this year, followed by the Dos Santos brothers from Hoedspruit, Tony on a Yamaha and Roxy on a Suzuki.

Honda quadder Wilmari Moller won the Ladies Class - despite landing in a ditch during the time-trail - while class leader Liezel Barnard on the industrial-strength 1000cc Can-Am Renegade lost time racing with two flat tyres on the same side at one stage, finishing second ahead of Jade Schutte (Yamaha) and Karen Geldenhuys, who trailed in fourth after her Can-Am spat her off during the race.

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