They may be small but two Brakpan boys are making giant strides on the local motorcycle racing scene.
Marnitz Otten and Liam Smith both took podium positions when they competed at the recent SA Short Circuit Series Motard Race in Vereeniging.
Seven-year-old Liam competed in the PW50 class. The Grade Two Laerskool Dalview learner has been working hard to improve himself as it’s his first year racing on the PW50.
Liam had a great start to the day qualifying in third place. The first heat saw some great racing. Liam was fighting for second place, but his bike broke during the sixth lap and he was unable to finish the race.
Liam’s dad Zandre was able to fix the bike in the pits and Liam was ready to race in the second heat.
During this heat, Liam had to start in eighth place at the back due to him being unable to finish the first heat.
He pushed hard and passed five riders to grab third place where he took the checkered flag. During the third heat, Liam started in third and raced his way into first place from the line.
“He held first place for four laps. It was such an exciting and close race. Overall, Liam ended the day with a third place podium; his first podium. He was so chuffed and excited,” said his mom, Amy.
Amy and Zandre are extremely proud of this achievement, with Amy citing it was the result of all of their hard work paying off.
Marnitz, also a Grade Two learner at Laerskool Dalview, competed in the bigger SM50 class. While the eight-year-old had a great day of racing, there were some hard lessons learned.
He qualified in third place at the start of the day, and during the first heat, Marnitz took the hole shot (raced from the start line in third place to first place).
Some excellent racing commenced as Marnitz and another competitor fought tooth and nail for second place.
In the end, Marnitz took the checkered flag in third place.
The second heat is where the lessons were learned. “Sleeping at the start” caused Marnitz to move down to sixth place and it was difficult for him to get back to the front runners and he ended in fifth place.
He started the third heat in fifth place and put up a spirited fight to get to the front of the pack. His determination paid off and he secured third place for the day.
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