Meet two off-road adrenaline junkies who love the thrill of racing in their Can-Am Maverick Side x Side X3 XRS.
Martie Bachfischer, 32, and her fiancé Gideon Jacobs, 34, have only been competing as a couple for a year now, but they are fully addicted to their passion.
Together they compete in the G-Class Side x Side car championships and are currently competing at the The Inland Offroad Championship in Gauteng (TIORCA) Regional G-Class.
Martie explained they also compete separately in the Africa Offroad Racing (AOR) Regional & Club racing.
Gideon bought a Can-Am Maverick XDS (Side x Side) about three years ago just to have some fun on the weekends, and competed in one or two races whenever they had an open weekend between their quad racing championships.
After Gideon had handed down his old Can-Am Maverick to Martie, she entered an event at Africa Offroad Racing (AOR), unfortunately without much success.
Because of the pandemic they only had one or two races with the Side x Sides last year.
“I navigated for Gideon at one of the 2020 TIORCA event, which was a disaster because I had to navigate from a road book, GPS, give hand signals and check the road. I multitasked like a maniac, not being used to this kind of racing,” said Martie.
She added that the pressure was on her that day but luckily she and Gideon can still laugh about it.
“We are both very competitive and he takes his sport very seriously, so it left me with minimal room for mistakes.”
They agreed to do the TIORCA championship together as a couple, and luckily Martie learned how to read a road book, read GPS, give hand signals and triple multitask.
“We get to compete against each other in the AOR Regional & Club championship in the G-Class where we both race our Mavericks. It keeps things interesting,” said Martie.
She added that every sport has its positives and negatives. In their case they can get injured when the car catches fire and they can’t get out fast enough; they can miss a corner in dusty conditions; go through a fence; hit a rock; strike an ant heap; miss a turn; or overturn the car.
“We flipped our car onto its side 10km into the qualifying lap of the first TIORCA race this year because we were over-eager. Luckily with all the safety systems in place we escaped unharmed and continued with our race after being helped by a fellow competitor.”
Martie and Gideon believe in practicing safety first in any sport. If the sport requires a helmet or a safety belt, then wear the helmet and the safety belt – even if you are only taking a quick spin – because safety systems and warnings are there for a reason.
They love the sport because they can do it together. Weeks after a race they still discuss how it went, joking with each other about where they could have done better, as well as their ‘oops’ moments.
Martie added that they love the adrenaline rush when they are on the starting line waiting for the flag to drop or the light to turn green, and nothing beats the feeling when they stop at the finish line after a hard day of racing.
“For us it is a passion; it is our life.”
Their list of achievements:
• Third place in the first race and fourth place in the second race of the 2021 TIORCA, with Gideon as the driver and Martie as the navigator
• Racing their separate cars with navigators, Gideon and his navigator are currently fourth in the Regional and fourth in the Club Championship at the 2021 AOR. Martie and her navigator are currently second in the Regional and second in the Club Championship at the 2021 AOR
Both Martie and Gideon are being sponsored by Dragon Energy, which started as their primary sponsor for their quad racing two to three years ago, with the Maverick Side x Side still being new to them and Dragon.
“Dragon Energy personalised their Side x Sides with the Dragon Logos and slogans, and our Side x Side features in most of Dragon Energy Drink promotional material, on the 2021 calendar, as well as in Dragon’s Xtreme Legendsville video.”
Martie said she and Gideon see it as a huge privilege to be labelled as pro athletes in the Dragon Energy squad.
“It is definitely the most supportive and greatest sport team to be a part of. They always back us, no matter what direction in racing we take. With their slogan being ‘The Power Is Yours’, we believe they see our power in the sport.”
