Two local motocross champions
Two young motorcycle riders, Jason van Breda and Chris Wright junior, have the ability to challenge every circuit they come across.
Jason van Breda, motocross champ, has recently won the Mini Moto Junior Motorcycle race in Vereeniging and was also awarded overall rider of the day.
He also qualified first and won all three heats in his class.
Jason (5) is following in the footsteps of his father Graeme van Breda (43) and grandfather Les van Breda (61).
They are both former national motorcycle racing champions and were awarded Springbok colours.
Graeme won the Kawasaki XZ10 championship in 2015 and is currently leading this year.
He says Jason has grown up on bikes and has been riding since he was three years old.
Jason rides motorcross, as well, and is one of the youngest competitors in his class.
He also won the overall Rider of the Day trophy.
“I was shocked and exceptionally proud that he managed to win in only his fourth race,” says Graeme.
Chris Wright junior (11) is also turning into a motorcycling star.
He is the current Junior Gauteng champion and also the NSF 100 Series Cup long and short circuit champion.
Chris is three-times NSF 100 champion and rides privately in the CBR 150 class.
He has also attended three NSF 100 camps, where they ride for four days around certain tracks.
The NSF 100 is part of the South African Motor Racing Academy, where riders are given a 100cc bike to obtain the racing bike feeling.
“Under the professional eye of coach Niel Harren, Chris was invited to stay with the academy as mentor to assist with smaller riders,” says his father Chris Wright senior.
This Grade Six learner from Selcourt Primary School also competed in two endurance races held in Port Elizabeth (PE) and Cape Town in 2016.
“The team includes two to three international riders and they ride for four hours non-stop.
“My son’s team won the PE race and was runners-up in the eight-hour Cape Town race,” says Chris senior.
He believes his son’s good name and the fact that he is leading in points in all the championships makes him a good ambassador for the sport.
His parents are planning to take Chris junior to Spain to prepare him for the Red Bull Rookies Cup to give him a feeling for international racing standards.
Chris’ father says he has been riding since he was five years old.
“I am proud to see how he has developed in the sport, he is unique and has a natural riding ability,” he says.
What Chris would love to do is to encourage other children interested in the sport to pursue their dreams, but to do that at controlled tracks.
Chris senior says the sport requires extreme fitness and has taken Chris’ school work to the next level.
“Riders need high discipline and unique riding techniques to be able to make quick decisions while riding,” says his father.
Michael Greedy (11), one of Chris junior’s friends, says Chris convinced him to join the academy and he loves every minute of the training and riding.
Both Chris and Jason will compete in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal on July 1.
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