The 2013 SA Enduro Motorcycle championship produced another different race winner at the weekend's Ashton enduro with Yamaha young gun Marc Torlage taking his first overall enduro victory at national level.
But it wasn't an easy win as Torlage, the current E2 (200cc) champion, crashed hard during his first attempt at the 10km Special Stage and bent his handlebars of his Yamahabike. E1 (Open Class) and E2 competitors had to complete this special timed stage in the dry and dusty hills three times, with Torlage posting the fastest time on all three occasions.
The competition between the front runners was extremely tough with 71 points (seconds) separating Torlage from local Montagu rider Altus de Wet (Husqvarna) who won the E1 category and finished second overall. De Wet could not finish the season opener and had to tackle the race way behind the front runners.
This was his starting position for every Special Stage and dust from the riders ahead of him proved to be a major problem, but he persevered to give Husqvarna their first class victory and podium result.
TESTING CONDITIONS
Like Torlage, KTM 'works' rider Louwrens Mahoney posted his first overall podium result when he finished a mere nine points (seconds) behind De Wet in third - and second in E1 despite a collision with a tree towards the end of a race that tested the riders with early-morning rain as well as wind, extreme heat and dust.
All the pressure was on the winner of the previous round, Husaberg rider Wade Young, who started in pole position. He finished fourth overall and second in E2 after posting the quickest race time for the shorter Special Stage - a grassy section of about one kilometre that they had to complete four times.
Young won this Special Stage three times, but crashed and damaged his clutch while pushing hard on the last long stage of the race, costing him lost valuable time and points.
FIVE MANUFACTURERS IN THE TOP EIGHT
Nicholas Pienaar (KTM) finished fifth (and third in E1) with the Cape's Brett Lewis (Husqvarna) just off the E1 podium and sixth overall. With Yamaha, KTM, Husqvarna and Husaberg already in the top six, yet another manufacturer made it into the top eight - Sherco.
The Gutzeit brothers, Jade and younger sibling Blake, both racing for Sherco Racing, finished eighth and seventh respectively on their Shercos with the Blake beating the defending title holder by only one point!
Yamaha rounded off the top ten with Kenny Gilbert only two points behind Jade Gutzeit and Timothy Young ninth and 10th respectively.
SENIOR CLASS
The Senior Class also produced a new winner after a tough three-way battle. Bruce May (Yamaha) scored his first victory when he beat defending champ, William 'wild Bill' Gillit (Yamaha) by a mere 12 points.
May won two of the five Special Stages with Gillit and third-placed Jody Engelbrecht (Husaberg) taking one each. Only 47 points separated the top three riders with Engelbrecht 35 points behind Gillit.
The anticipated Torlage v Cox battle in the Master Class didn't materialise as Alfie Cox, who won this class at the first race of the season, didn't ride at Asthon. Defending champion Denzil Torlage (Yamaha) put in his usual solid performance to take the win from local Cape Town rider, Tom Bogerhausen (KTM) by 123 points.
Graydon Ilderton (KTM) was only eight points futher adrift in third, with Carl Rohrbeck (KTM) fourth (20 points behind Ilderton) and Charles Martins (KTM) rounding off the top five.