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.