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Local rider Stefan “Swanie” Swanepoel from Louis Trichardt will aim for good results in front of his home crowd during the Soutpansberg 400 on the weekend of 1 August. Photo: Action in Motion.

Soutpansberg 400 around the corner

 

Louis Trichardt is honoured to host the Soutpansberg 400 that will form a round of the Totpak National Off-road Motorcycle and Quad Championships, as well as a round of the Raslouw Academy Junior National Championship on the weekend of 1 August.

“It is the first time in decades that a national off-road race will take place in the Louis Trichardt area and with the two series already past the halfway mark, enthusiasts and spectators can expect lots of exciting racing action on their doorstep,” says Dirt Racing (promoters of the national championships) in a press release.

Competitors from all over the country and as far as the Cape, Port Elizabeth, East London, Queenstown and the Free State, as well as Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Ballito, Richard’s Bay, Matatiele in KwaZulu-Natal and Norhwest and Gauteng will travel to Louis Trichardt to tackle the third-last round of the Totpak National Championship. It is also the penultimate round of the Junior National Championship, while the event will also form a round of the Northern Regions Championship.

“And while competitors will travel across the country to compete, a few ‘local’ riders from Louis Trichardt, Polokwane and Tzaneen will hope to produce some good results on their home turf,” said Dirt Racing. These include Stefan “Swanie” Swanepoel from Louis Trichardt. He will aim for good results in front of his home crowd. He is currently second in the Q1 Quad Championship and would like to add another victory to his name.  Then there is André Park from Musina in action in the Q1 Quad Class Championship, and the 16-year old Wilmari Moller from Tzaneen, who will not have to travel too far to try and keep her lead in the Combined Ladies Class Championship. She has won the Ladies Quad Class already twice this year and aims for this title as well.

The Soutpansberg 400 is being organised by Peet and Alice Swanepoel, in conjunction with local organisations and individuals. The race will take place at the Aloe Rock MX track adjacent to the N1 north, about eight kilometres outside Louis Trichardt and will consist of two 60km loops and a 20km loop for the juniors.

Motorcycle and quad competitors will tackle the two different 60km loops on Saturday between 07:30 and 08:00. This time trial will determine the starting order for the race that will start at 10:30.

In the junior category, the young motorcycle riders between the ages of seven and 14 years will start their two hour race at 08:00, while the junior quad riders will race at 12:00.

There will be lots of action at the start/finish and service points as competitors will go through the same service point after completing each 60km loop. There are seven classes in the motorcycle and quad categories where riders will have to complete the full race distance (total of six laps) – the 60 km time-trial, followed by two of the same loops when the main race starts, before swopping loops and doing the second loop also three times. There will be lots of spectator points while food and refreshments will be served during the day.

For more information, visit www.dirtracing.co.za or Dirt Racing on Facebook.

Sport - Date: 24 July 2015

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

Email: [email protected]

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