Parker Cik ended the national motocross season on a high after winning round eight of the Motorsport SA National MX Championships at Chestnut Hill MX Track in Bronkhorspruit on November 4.
This was the rider’s third win of the season but Riley Geldenhuys already had the championship in the bag going into the last round of the season.
The Rynfield resident faced his biggest challenge of the season but neither a slow start in the 50cc class nor a determined charge by champion Geldenhuys towards the end of the race could end his quest for perfection.
Despite a good launch at the gate, he slipped behind Geldenhuys for the first few metres of the first lap before meticulously passing the KTM rider as he went down on the maze – a mistake the Benonian took full advantage of as he opened an unassailable lead.
Hard to miss on the track in his bright neon green gear, he registered his fastest lap of the afternoon, completing lap one in a time of 01:49 to open a huge gap as Geldenhuys fell down the pecking order to sixth.
With the Husqvarna rider poised to win the race, Geldenhuys had to put on a fight to be within the top three. He regained his momentum and clawed his way back into contention as he passed Luan Jordaan and Coby Kretzmann to move to second and secure the championship.
On the last lap and after passing the maze, Cik raised his fist in the air with joy before taking the chequered flag in a time of 13:44 for his third win of the season to finish second in the championship.
Geldenhuys was second after crossing the line in a time of 14:07 while Kretzmann rounded up the podium, arriving at the finish two seconds later.
Season summary
Although Cik didn’t win the championship, the eight-year-old had an incredible season where he went hammer and tongs with Geldenhuys. He never finished outside the top three, winning three rounds and grabbing three runners-up and two third-place spots.
He opened his season with a second-place finish in round one in Welkom and would finish second and third in rounds two and three at Zone 7 MX Track in Cape Town.
In the fourth round at Thunder Valley in KZN-Midlands, he earned another second-place finish and grabbed his first win of the season at Teza in Richards Bay.
The rider grabbed another third-place finish in round six while also bagging his second win of the season in the seventh round.
He finished third in the Motocross of African Nations Championship in August and won the 50cc Northern Region championship. He also received his Proteas and Northern Region colours at the MSA end-of year prize-giving.
“He rode like an absolute champion in his last year on the 50cc class. He is now moving onto the 65cc bikes and is looking forward to challenging for the championship next year,” said his father, Eduard.
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