WINDHOEK, Feb. 20 – Organisers of the fledgling Namibian Funduro where overwhelmed by riders and spectators as over 100 entries were received for the debut event on Saturday 17 February.
Ranging from 50cc Yamahas, through a whole host of MX and Enduro machines, all the way up to the mighty BMW 1200cc HP2 Adventure Bike, the races format made for a relay with teams being drawn at random during the riders briefing.
Riders were started two at a time with 30 second dust gaps between the starters. After the first lap the riders had to hand-over their timing transponder bracelets to their team mates. The pits were a hive of activity as the first 37 teams came in from a very fast lap one. Setting a blistering pace in lap one, Marcel Henle gave his team the lead.
But this race was about consistency. On lap 2 Karl Heinz Erni managed to set the fastest lap bringing his team back into contention for the win.
On lap 3 it was Mark Roesner who was fastest. The final Results for race 1 were as follows:
1st: Heiko Stranghoehner, Ronnie Adams, Derrick Clark
2nd: Teddy Kausch, Karl Heinz Erni, Andre Steinfurth
3rd: Marcel Henle, Axel Foerster, Mark Roesner
Race 2 got underway just after 13H30. This time the starting order was reversed with the slower riders getting their teams underway and the faster riders having to ride last lap. Again it was the winners of the first race that set a very fast lap 1 and managed to hold their advantage all the way to the chequered flag.
Unfortunately the second placed team from the mornings race was unable to finish the race due to a crash by Karl Heinz Erni. He was however quickly attended to by the onsite medics from EMTSS. Results for race 3 were as follows:
1st: Heiko Stranghoehner, Ronnie Adams, Kai Hennes(replacing Derrick Clark)
2nd: Marcel Henle, Axel Foerster, Mark Roesner
3rd: Olaf Pack, Johan Meyer, Francois Steyn
Overall the day was hailed as a success. The large numbers of entries and spectators were a welcome sight and fun was had by all involved.
The next race will be on 17 March 2018 on Farm Omakawara in the Witvlei area. This race is dubbed as ‘The Valley of a 1000 Turns’ due to the twisty nature of the race course. Omakawara is one of the most popular races on the calendar and the organizers regularly see well over 90 entries on the day. The track is also not very technical so it will be good fun for riders that enjoyed the funduro and would like to get more involved in the sport. – NDN Staffer
