This is a record number for this event and is hopefully a good sign for the rest of the season. Located on the other side of Badplaas, Wildside is recognised as one of the toughest and most technical events in this series. Riders can choose between various routes depending on their skills and fear levels. “So whether you choose to ride the green, red or pink route, you will be challenged,” said route director Franco Louw.
“Planning is intense and usually starts a month in advance with the help of Google Maps. We ride the routes and adjust as we go along. The race offers four routes: Red Pro 32,6km x 4 (for Pro Elite riders), Red 30,9km x 3, Green 19,4km and Pink 12,5km. Here and there the routes do overlap,” said Franco. “Marking the routes and clearing is a physical and demanding process, but we love it.” Although tough as nails in parts, even for Pro Elite riders, all the routes offer opportunities for entrants to stretch their legs (so to speak) and take a breather before they hit the next challenge. Will they be back? The reply is a resounding yes!
Results Pro Elite: Four laps Pro Red 1. 114 – Dwayne Kleynhans now riding for SHERCO 2. 585 – Barend Erasmus 3. 113 – Armand Fourie. Pro B: Three laps Red 1. 301 – Rikus Swart 2. 727 – Zander Goosen 3. 774 – Kyle Gibson. High school: Three laps Red 1. 92 – Dumél de Plessis also riding for SHERCO 2. L11 – Stuart Billingham 3. 74 – Ryan Silver. Senior: Three laps Red 1. CF19 – Whitey Oosthuizen 2. 517 – Geoff Patterson 3. 70 – Hannes Saaijman. Masters: Two laps Red 1. 57 – Iwan Roux 2. E77 – Wayne Everton 3. 76 – Alex Vowles.
Silver A: Two laps Red 1. 37 – Jonathan Edwards 2. C228 – Shaun du Preez 3. B21 – Ian Buscop. Silver B: One lap Red, two Green 1. 111 – Ruben le Roux 2. 101 – Ehrus Lubbe 3. 465 – Rone Shapiro. Pro Mini: One lap Red, two Green 1. J394 – Matt Stevens 2. 95 – Gabriel du Toit 3. 56 – Ruben Flores. Ladies A: One lap Red, two Green 1. 711 – Chantelle Vermeulen. Ladies B: Four laps Green 1. S16 – Stephanie Robbertse 2. 210 – Catherine Mostert 3. L1 – Lindie Botha. Club Green: Four laps Green 1. 55 – Izak van Niekerk 2. I116 – Lee Rose 3. 267 – Jamie Viljoen.
85cc Junior: Three laps Green 1. J108 – Miguel Cavina 2. 152 – Enzo Kuun 3. A101 – Alessio Di Siena. 65cc: One lap Green, four Pink 1. 304 – Hanlu Steenkamp 2. 254 – Werner Kleinhans 3. 38 – Lian van Niekerk. 50cc: Six laps Pink 1. J101 – Christiaan Bellingan 2. Aden Vowles. Kickstarter: Six laps Pink 1. A16 – Armando Hattingh 2. A18 – Alex Leigh 3. 6104 – Matthew Scriven. Weekend Warrior: One lap Green, four Pink 1. A70 – Johan Heyneke 2. W171 – Jacques van den Heever 3. 448 – Luke Reilly. The next race is in Pilgrim’s Rest on May 1.
