Round 4 of the SA Enduro Motorcycle championship, the Pilgrims Rest National on 27 July in Mpumalanga, will level the playing field at a critical stage in the 2013 series. It will be the first national enduro event in this area for many years and, with only three rounds remaining it will be crucial for title contenders.
Only 10 points separate the top four riders, with three riders tied for second behind the overall leader, Wade Young (Husaberg) who has had a rocky ride after winning the season opener.
Yamaha team mates, Marc Torlage (E2/200cc) - who won Round 2 - and Kenny Gilbert (E1/Open Class) as well as open-class KTM rider Nicholas Pienaar are each 10 points behind Young and will be fighting to move upward and away from each other, while Gilbert and Pienaar, each of whom has a win in the SA Off-Road championship this season to his credit, aim for their first enduro victory this year.
CLOSE RACING
Altus de Wet (Husqvarna) won last time out and will be keen to leverage that into an improvement on his current fifth place overall - particularly as he's only four points adrift of fourth-placed Louwrens Mahoney (KTM), who is still out of action with a broken ankle.
Mahoney's team mate Scott Bouverie is five points behind De Wet and will also have his sights set on a place in the top five - but he, in turn, is only eight points clear of three young guns - Brett Swanepoel (KTM), eighth in his first season at senior level, Blake Gutzeit (Sherco), who missed the previous enduro due to injury, and Tim Young (Yamaha).
The fact that only 34 points separate the leader and the rider in 10 (and a win is worth 25 points) is an indication of just how tight this championship is - but the class championships are even closer.
CLASS STANDINGS
Young leads the E2 standings, where the top five riders have each finished every enduro so far this season, by nine points from Torlage, with Bouverie a further six points behind and Hodgson just one point further down.
Pienaar is on top of the E1 table with 63 points, one point ahead of Mahoney and three ahead of Gilbert. De Wet has had to play catch-up after he could not finish the season opener - but he's now just 10 points behind Gilbert and five ahead of Tim Young with Scott Scheepers (Gas Gas) another four points adrift.
Defending Senior Class champion William Gillit (Yamaha) has won twice this season but admits that the competition has been tough. He currently leads Bruce May (Yamaha) - the only other winner - by a scant five points with Jody Engelbrecht (Husaberg) five points further behind.
MASTER CLASS
Master-Class maestro Denzil Torlage (Yamaha), in in contrast, has a healthy lead of 17 points over Graydon Ilderton (KTM) with Carl Rohrbeck on another KTM five points further down.
The Pilgrims Rest route will include various river crossings as well as a few very steep climbs (one of which is a daunting 2000 metres long!) and descents, taking the riders through old mine slopes, over a disused coco-pan railway line and through a wattle forest.
There will be a short 2.5km special stage as well as a longer 13km timed special stage on the 50km loop. The riders who post the quickest special-stage times - with the least penalty points - will be the respective class winners.
The Pilgrims Rest Enduro will start at 8am on Saturday 27 July and all the action will happen just outside the historic mining town.