Ok so I haven't updated this site in a while - well over the next couple of days I will be posting race reports from the last three GOC's held this year aswell as some interesting rides that we've done including the recent De Wildt Blanket Run. 

4th Round Inxon Printing Series De Wildt on the 28th May 2011

The 4^th Round of the Inxon Printing Series was held at De Wildt on the 28^th May 2011, Having missed the three previous ones, I decided that I could not miss out on this one, and with it being held at De Wildt I just had to enter to see what all the fuss is about.   I must congratulate the organisers with both the pre-registrations as well as on the day registration, the setup is well organised and runs exceptionally smooth.   There was no waiting in long lines.  It took me a whole of 2 seconds to collect my race documentation.  Well done guys and girls!  My only suggestion would be to put up signs indicating where the registration caravan is parked.  In total 277 bikes entered and 116 quads.

Seeding depends on previous races and at the speed you get your entries in on.   This being my first race I had to start right at the back from row 55. I started in 273 place and finished 9^th in the ladies class and 230^th overall.

The course consisted of 3 laps of almost 60 kms each.  Its a tough, challenging and not too technical route,  with plenty of twists and turns through bush, river beds and trees.   I often overshot sharp turns due to severe dust.  Once in the riverbed you can recover from the dusty sections and this is where I made up most of my time and managed to catch up some of the riders that were ahead of me on the starting grid.  Having a 125 2t made it easier for me to negotiate the thick riversand and rocky sections.    

Route markings seemed to be the problem of the day, this was not the fault of the organisers.  The locals must have found it amusing to remove the markings and then to watch us poor idiots at the rear of the pack getting horribly lost and riding around in circles.  However the organisers were ontop of their game and on my second lap all the markings were back in place and there were no more excuses for getting lost.  

If you’re a keen racer then the Inxon series is a must.  Just be warned bike fitness is essential. 

Want To Rail Rutted Corners And Berms Like A Motocross Pro?

Of all the passing maneuvers executed in a motocross race, the majority are done in corners so learning to corner properly is a crucial skill. Just follow these tips and you'll be the berm master at your local motocross track.


As you approach a corner be looking well ahead, the entry to most corners will be rough with braking bumps so try to pick the smoothest entry line.


You should be standing up in the attack position to brake effectively and also to allow your legs and arms to soak up some of the bumps.
As you finish braking move smoothly into the cornering position in one fluid movement, that is with your inside leg out and forward to weight the front wheel.


Never lock your knee and try to keep your foot parallel to the ground to allow it to skim along. Keep your toes pointing ahead, if you let your foot turn out or in and it catches on a rock or some other obstacle on the track you'll give your knee an awesome tweak, trust me it hurts!


With your leg out weighting the front wheel also put as much weight as you can on the outside footpeg, this is especially important on flat and off camber turns.
As you're in the corner you should be looking through the corner picking the exit line you want to follow.


One of the tips to remember when cornering in motocross is 'steady in, fast out', brake as late as possible but stay in control as you enter the turn.


The fastest line through a corner will usually be a sweeping line across the apex similar to a road racers but this line can leave you vulnerable to an inside pass if you have a rider right behind you. In that case a better line would be tighter and closer to the inside of the corner so as to not leave an opening.


Corners can be roughly divided into 3 types - bermed, smooth and rutted.


Berms.
Berms come in all shapes and sizes and because you can carry more speed through them, so many motocross riders instinctively head to the berm. Whilst cornering around the berm can quite often be faster, particularly in wet conditions when traction is hard to find, a lot of the time the inside line around a motocross track whilst feeling slower will actually be quicker.


Take a good look at the berm, does the corner have a wide apex meaning is it a long way out to the berm from the inside of the corner? The extra corner speed you carry will be lost if you're travelling 3 times the distance of the guy who took the inside line through the same corner.


Having said that, the fact that berms allow you to lean the bike into them and carry more speed through the corner means that you can get a good flow happening from one corner to the next.
The steeper the angle of the berm the more you can lean the bike into it.


The best line is usually to enter the berm high and then turn and drive down the face as you exit. Stay smooth through the berm, squaring off by locking the back wheel to slide it around and then driving down the face is slower than holding a smooth flowing line.


The exception to this is when you need to avoid a rough section on the outside of the berm where you would normally exit or if you need to square up your line to get good drive to a jump straight after the berm.


Squaring off in berms can be good for block passes, these are done by outbraking the rider in front of you and taking the inside line into the berm and going under the rider you want to pass, brake slide your back wheel onto the higher line on the berm and the rider who is now behind you will have to brake or take evasive action to avoid hitting you from behind.


You probably won't make a lot of friends at motocross races with block passes but they are an acceptable, legitimate form of passing.

Smooth Corners.Because of the neutral or off camber in smooth flat corners, body positioning on a motocross bike is crucial to get the most traction and drive. As you finish braking for the corner slide forward into the cornering position on the bike.

This should be seated with your inside leg out towards the front wheel. You should be up on the corner of the seat so that as the bike is leaning over for the turn your body is still vertical. Lean heavily on the outside footpeg, this will help weight the bike for increased traction.

Look through the corner and aim for the line that you want to exit on. Once you pass the apex of the corner you should be accelerating just enough that both wheels of the bike are starting to drift. Exercise good throttle control, because flat corners have so little traction it's very easy to be over-zealous with the throttle and have the rear wheel step out.

As you exit the corner, straighten the bike up to get better traction and increase the amount of throttle.

Rutted Corners.Cornering in ruts takes a combination of skill and confidence. Ruts psyche out so many motocross riders because the technique requires the rider to allow the rut to steer the bike. Because of this learning to corner well in ruts can make a huge difference to your lap times.

Entering the rut is the most important part of the whole process, dropping into a rut partway through a corner certainly is not the best option.
Again brake hard into the corner and approach the entry to the rut at a steady pace. Enter the rut with your weight forward, your elbows up and your head over the cross brace, lean with the bike into the rut weighting the outside peg.

Allow the rut to steer the bike, if you try to fight it the front wheel will climb out and you'll get out of shape. As you pass the apex of the rut start accelerating, the more speed you can carry through the more centrifugal force you'll exert on the bike causing it to really stick in the rut and allowing you to accelerate hard out.

Look through the turn and focus on the exit, not down over the front guard. As you exit the rut the bike will start to sit up and you can accelerate harder into the straight. Practice really is the key to cornering in ruts, with confidence the whole process becomes so much quicker and easier.



Extracted from - motocross racing tips.com

14th May - Round 3 Northern Regionals MX - Dirt Bronco's

Bike used :- Honda CR125 2003


The day started off bad.  What's the first thing they tell you when you race - do not be late as this adds to the stress of the day.  Well try being an hour late - it really makes the stress of the day worse.  Luckily we had Gary from Dirt Bike Fanatics as pit support  and he was already there and all set up.  (Thanx Gary)


The race track was perfectly prepped yet again well done guys.


There were quite a few new faces.  The ladies class just keeps getting bigger and better at every race.


My starts are still not getting any better and I have a fear of them so badly that I cannot even think of them.  I practise starts and ace them but when it comes to race day its as if I forget all about the training and practise sessions and I end up getting the starts all wrong.  This phenomena stills remains unexplained to me.


The girls have definately improved their riding, training and hardwork paid off.  I however seem to be getting worse.  Not sure if I was just having a bad day or if age is now becoming a factor.   Lets just not mention the age lets just say that the girls are getting better and that they have worked hard and trained hard. 


Alecia fed me carrots from her carrot spewing machine.  Alecia has improved her riding by bounds and leaps - I'm so impressed with her.  She has managed to get her riding style down to a fine art.  She looks comfortable on the bike.   Well done girl!     However shame and sorry for you but I'm still one place ahead on the points.  Mmmm best you get cracking cause I'm only one point ahead.   So I'm still holding on to 5th place overall - I'm impressed with myself, but this might not be for long as the points are not far apart. 


 Well done girls.

Motorcross Holeshot - The How to .....

A motocross holeshot should be as easy as waiting for the gate to drop and giving it a handful, right? Wrong. Races really are won and lost on the start so perfecting your motocross holeshot technique is well worth the effort.

Concrete Starts.
Concrete starts require a slightly different technique than dirt starts. Make sure the concrete pad that you'll start on is as clean as possible, some tracks will have a straw broom beside the start gate. Use it.

Be aware of whether your bike bleeds fuel out of the carby vent tubes, if it does keep your bike off the start area until your race is just about to start because the last thing you want is any sort of liquid under your wheel when the gate drops.

When your bike is in position, do a small burnout. Just enough to clean the knobs on your rear wheel, any more and you'll take the edges off your nice new knobby. Once the 30 second board is up, position yourself on the bike.

Both feet should be down and your weight should be back on the seat. Some riders like to have their left foot up on the peg ready for the first gear change but when starting on a surface as slippery as concrete you're better off have your weight distributed as evenly as possible on the bike.

If your weight is more to one side and the rear wheel spins, the bike will slip away from that side.

Once you see the 5 second board, increase your revs and with the front brake lightly applied, find the friction point in your clutch lever where the clutch is just starting to grab.

Pick a higher gear than you would if you were on a dirt start to minimise wheelspin.

Studies have shown that humans can react quicker to movement they see in the peripheral part of their vision so theoretically if you're watching the gate beside you out of the corner of your eye your reaction time will be quicker and hopefully your chances of a motocross holeshot higher. Keep you head forward over the bars and your elbows up and out, this position not only allows you to control the bike better and weight the front wheel (thus avoiding ending up flat on your back looking up at the sky) but with your elbows out you can fend off a rider beside you if they drift onto your line.

As the gates drop evenly release the front brake and fully engage the clutch, remembering there is very little traction under your back wheel until you clear the start pad. Once you do, move your weight forward (you know why!).

As the bike hooks up on the dirt grab the next gear and voila! the perfect motocross holeshot.

Be mindful of where your bike makes the most power in its rev range, too many riders hold it open for too long in each gear off the start and as the bike overrevs the power drops off. Experiment to find out where your bike makes the most power, this is markedly different between two strokes and four strokes.

Dirt Starts.
With dirt starts again prepare the surface where your rear wheel will be driving out of the gate. Kick some dirt into the rut left from previous starts and stamp it down firmly. This will give you a harder more tractable and smoother surface up to the base of the start gate. The only real difference from concrete starts is to have your weight forward on the bike and to pick a lower gear because there will be a lot more traction as you launch off the start.

Get a friend to time you trying different techniques with your starts, the stopwatch never lies.

It's been said a thousand times before but I'll say it again, there's only two parts to a race - from the start gate to the first corner and from the first corner to the chequered flag. Pull a perfect motocross holeshot and you're halfway there.

16th April 2011 - Laerskool Visserhoek Funduro (De Wildt Region)

Bike used - Honda CRF230 :-
(My KTM was still not repaired by this event so I had to use hubbies 230)

This was the most fun I have ever had on a bike. 


Laerskool Visserhoek hosted their first funduro on Saturday the 16th April to raise funds for this small rural primary school. 


 Registration took place (or was supposed to) take place just after 6am at Vissershoek, which meant we had to get up around 3 in the morning to be there on time.  This we managed, only to find that due to the heavy non-stop rain the registration was running late and only eventually commenced just before 7am.  The ride time was also postponed in the hope that some of the rain would subside.  The rain however kept pouring.   We eventually set off just after 9.  


The route they chose was well marked and well planned out.  The total loop was about 34 kms and I must add it was the most gruelling 34 kms I have ever done.   The first half of the route was in a riverbed that was muddy wet and had some severe rocky sections in between.  We were allowed to do as many loops as we could possibly fit in up to the cutoff point of 2 pm that afternoon.   I got caught in the riverbed on one of the muddy sections for over half an hour.  My bike was bogged down in the mudd so bad that it took 4 adult men to get it out.  Further down the loop closer to the end there was the "koppie section", which ended up being quite a rocky steep climb up with an awesome steep windy decent.  I honestly thought close to the end on my first loop that I would only manage one loop and would not even attempt a second one.  However, I must suffer from short term memory or some other malfunctioning brain condition, because I stopped at the pits demanded a refuel and sped off at the rate of knotts to catch up my fellow rival on his 125 yammie smoker.  


The second and last lap went well, managing to avoid any major bogg downs or hickups - however it was a slow second lap due to the severe prevailing rain and muddy conditions.   The Funduro was well planned and laid out for a first attempt.  The Marshall's marked the route well and was always at hand for assistance.   They did a good sweep of the loop afterwards to ensure that all the riders were back in the pits.   Once all of this was done they hosted a small prize giving, which was based on a lucky draw system.  I am proud to say I now own my first ever tool kit thanks to Laerskool Vissershoek.   Job well done guys and girls.   Definitely a must do on your calendar for next year and don't let the rain put you off it just adds to the fun.

Many Thanks to Gary from Dirt Bike Fanatics for the pit support.

9th April - Round 2 Northern Regionals MX - Zeemans

Bike used - Honda CR125 2003 :-


Up at the crack of dawn.  I'm starting to think that we are completely nuts.  Getting up so early seems strange now that winter is upon us.  Its cold and dark.  It had been raining and the track was excessively wet and muddy.  Even walking the track proved difficult to do let alone ride it.  I was extremely nervous about riding in such severe muddy conditions, but felt more at ease once I saw that all the other riders battled and I ended up being the only lady on the track that did not fall during the practise lap.  

By our first heat the track was nice and dry, however it was severly rutted.   It was rough and tough but we all survived the first heat execpt for Dolly who unfortunately, after falling, could not get her bike started again.  

Our second heat started very late in the day and visibility was poor.  On some parts of the track you could no longer see the ruts it was so dark.  I ended up taking my goggles off in an attempt to see better, but to no avail.  

Finishing off in 8th Position overall.   Standing 5th on the log after two races. But only because Amy unfortunately crashed in her second heat and ended with minimal points.  (Championship points attached).   Note to self - frame current results, I might not be 5th on the log for much longer.  Competition's stiff.  The ladies out there are talented.   

	Competitor	Bike     No.	Reg.	DBRONCO		JMXC		TOTAL
				26-Feb		9-Apr
				H1	H2	H1	H2
1	CINDY POROBICH	22	NR	25	25	25	25	100
2	BRITTANY CUTHBERT	71	NR	22	22	22	22	88
3	MIGNON VAN DEVENTER	79	NR	20	20	20	20	80
4	NELINA BRAND	817	NR	17	19	19	18	73
5	ELAINE DE SA	102	NR	16	16	15	15	62
6	ALECIA ROOME	27	NR	14	14	14	14	56
7	NOKITHULA RADEBE	17	NR	13	13	13	16	55
8	AMY LEIGH SAWYER	15	NR	19	17	16	DNF	52
10	NADINE PRETORIUS	92	NR			18	19	37
9	WOUNA DU PLESSIS	24	NR	DNF	12	12	13	37
11	LUCINDA FLETCHER	121	NR	18	18			36
12	DISA SAMUELSON	111	NR			17	17	34
13	DOLLY MDINISO	99	NR	15	15	0	DNF	30