Eleven-year-old Christian Berrington-Smith was one of the riders who recently descended upon Legends Motocross Park for the final round of the Northern Regions Championship Series.
Christian’s previous race outing at this venue – his first after returning from injury – was never short of its challenges as he crashed hard in the second heat of the regional championship finals, putting a bend in the bike’s exhaust system.
Still a bit shy on bike time, the Agape Christian School learner was determined to defend his sixth place in the national championship standings.
Christian coped well in the wet conditions and qualified in sixth spot. He had a mid-pack start in the first race, and mindful of his recent crash, he kept the plot upright to finish ninth.
The second race was a virtual carbon copy of the first, but this time he rode with a better flow, and hauled in a couple of riders from far back to score another top-ten finish with his second ninth of the day.
The two top-ten finishes were good enough to cement Christian’s sixth place in the final championship standings.
The highlight of the race was a fierce tussle with top national contender Jordan van Wyk.
According to the event organisers, this is a remarkable achievement for the youngest rider during his debut season in the 85cc Pro Minicross class, having skipped the 85cc small wheel class altogether.
The fifth round of the championship series had been cancelled due to inclement weather, and this round carried double points for the riders.
This was a double-edged sword, for it would be possible to make up a huge wad of points with a good ride, but conversely, any calamity would be hard punished.
And so it proved to be for Christian as he got boxed in at the start, and again had to fight his way forward from mid-pack.
Fate intervened early as the young rider chased a triple jump and went down before another rider ploughed into his bike.
Christian was forced to retire, and the points he thus lost were doubly devastating, dropping him to sixth in the championship standings.
However, he takes a lot of positives from the season. He was also the youngest rider in the class, and to be in the hunt for second place in the championships until the very last race is a remarkable achievement for the promising rider.
