PRESS RELEASE
NEWS: NATIONAL ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP
18.05.2015
HAT TRICK FOR YOUNG AT KEI ENDURO WHILE BAD LUCK SETS TEASDALE BACK IN
THE E1 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Kei Enduro held at Spring Valley, just outside East London in the Eastern Cape, marked the third round
and the half way mark of the 2015 Liquorland South African Enduro championship. Rain the day before the
race and during race day made for an interesting day’s racing and riders had to dig deep to meet regularity
times and not make any mistakes on the special stages.
The 50 km route consisted of a 12 km Enduro special test that was only timed from the second lap, a 2 km
Extreme special as well as a 4 km MX type special that were both timed from the first lap. Competitors were
given 2h 15min to complete the first lap, two hours for the second lap and 1h 50min for the third lap. With not
much time to spare on the first lap riders knew they had to push it in order not to run late and incur penalties.
Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Wade Young came back from a recent injury, but that would not hold the
Paddock youngster back. He gave it his all and walked away victorious from the event, making it three out of
three wins this season so far, winning the E2 class but also posting the fastest times overall.
“I really enjoyed the challenging track today, it was very different to what we have raced this year so far.
Everything went smoothly and I never jeopardised myself in any way after my recent injury. I loved my KTM
300 XC-W and really appreciate all the effort that the organisers put into putting this race together.”, said
Young.
His teammate Scott Bouverie did not disappoint either, riding a consistent race and taking his third second
place in the E2 class this season behind Young. Bouverie also posted the second fastest times overall for the
day.
“The track was very slippery with fast bits and technical pieces in between. It was hard to push throughout the
whole race, but I felt so comfortable on my KTM 300 XC-W and everything went really well. I tried not to make
any mistakes and it all paid off at the end.”, said Bouverie.
Louwrens Manhoney had a consistent day out on board his KTM 350 EXC-F but got stuck on the Extreme
special on the last lap, losing valuable time and running late, seeing the multiple champion finish the E2 class
in 8th place.
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In the E1 class disaster struck when E1 championship leader Travis Teasdale got stuck in the mud on the 12
km long Enduro special test on the final lap, losing over half an hour on the special stage which also made
Teasdale run late on his regularity stage, incurring 960 penalty points (16 minutes). Teasdale’s KTM 250 XCF machine was covered in mud half way and it did not look like Teasdale would be able to make it out of the
mud on his own. Fellow competitors eventually came to rescue and helped Teasdale get out of his misery.
Thanks to his ‘never give up’ attitude he pushed all the way to the finish line finishing the race in 6 th place in
the highly competitive E1 class. His misfortune moved Teasdale back in the championship and he is now 4
points behind first place. The talented Pietermaritzburg rider will have to make up some points in the
upcoming rounds to regain the championship lead.
“The Kei Enduro was a great event and it started off with some really good specials for me. My 250 XC-F ran
like a dream, the last lap however was tough after the rain came down really hard. I got stuck in the mud on
the long Enduro special and lost over half an hour there. Besides that I felt strong, I’m happy with everything
and I’m feeling confident for the next round of the championship.”, said Teasdale.
Teasdale’s team mate Dwayne Kleynhans had a great day on board his KTM 250 EXC-F. Kleynhans finished
in a respectable second place in the E1 class and is now lying fourth in the E1 championship, only two points
behind third place.
Offroad specialist Jarryd Coetzee also had a fantastic day out on board his KTM 250 XC-F and for the first
time Coetzee managed to crack the top ten in the E1 class, finishing the race in 8 th place in class, moving
Coetzee up to 12th place in championship which also happens to be his race number for this year. Coetzee is
only one point short of 9th place and will certainly look at finishing the season off within the top 10.
Brother Leader Tread KTM’s lady rider Kirsten Landman posted her best result this season so far with an
impressive fifth place in the silver class, seeing her move up to sixth place in class. And with only one point
separating her and fifth place Landman will push hard in the upcoming Nationals to secure a fifth place in the
silver class.
The High School class was once again dominated by KTM Centurion’s Eduan Bester who has won all three
races this year so far.
The team has not much time to rest as the fourth round of the championship will be taking place in
Bonnievale (Western Cape) on 2 May.
Article and pictures: KTM
Championship standings after round 3 (provisional):
PRESS RELEASE
E2 Championship
Pos.
1
2
3
4
Rider
Wade Young
Scott Bouverie
Altus de Wet
Kenny Gilbert
Team
Brother Leader Tread KTM
Brother Leader Tread KTM
Sherco
Yamaha
Points
75
66
58
56
Team
Yamaha
Brother Leader Tread KTM
KTM
Brother Leader Tread KTM
Points
69
65
58
56
E1 Championship
Pos.
1
2
3
4
Rider
Brett Swanepoel
Travis Teasdale
Kyle Flanagan
Dwayne Kleynhans