Krugersdorp has no shortage of talented sportsmen and Siya Tshabalala, a local motorcycle racer, is just another talent on the rise – this time from Kagiso.
Siya is an aspiring motorbike racer who has had the dream of being a MotoGP star since 2017. He explains how his passion for the sport grew after he witnessed a local racer in his area flexing his muscles and skills.
“I wanted to know more about the sport after watching a local racer in my neighbourhood. I taught myself how to ride eventually and would even go as far as watching videos on YouTube and learning from the very best including Brad Binder and Valentino Rossi, who I admire,” Siya said.
He would then put his skills to the test by uploading several videos of himself on whatever bike was available to him. Soon he would gain many views and clicks and he would get recognised by the South African Motor Racing Academy (SAMRA). After participating in a few local races, he got invitations from overseas but couldn’t go due to financial challenges.
Early this year, he wrote proposals and organised funding campaigns to raise money for his endeavours but would not find any luck. That was until Yamaha answered his call on October 17 and the company would give him a motorbike in support of his dreams. Siya worked for Yamaha for three years as an apprentice in their technician programme.
Managing director at Yamaha, Robin van Rensburg, has since explained why the gesture was so important.
“Siya has been with us for three years and is now a fully qualified technician. We’ve seen what he can do with his skills on our racing circuit so it was only natural for us to support one of our own.”
Siya’s plans for the future are to compete on an international level and also build an academy where he will introduce, train, and mentor young boys from Kagiso and the West Rand at large who would like to achieve the same dreams.
