The penultimate round of the 2018 TRP Distributors SA Motocross National Championship took place at Phakisa MX in Welkom. The upgraded track proved to be a favourite amongst the riders resulting in some serious bar-to-bar racing. Our MX chargers David Goosen and Tristan Purdon were in fighting force to rack up any additional points possible as they head into the last round of the season at Dirt Bronco in Johannesburg.
Yeah, we used to ride the Welkom track back in the day, last time was probably around 2005-2006. I like the good loamy dirt the track has to offer, as conditions change quite a bit with the looser soil. For me, the weekend started off well, ending 1st in both practises, having some super good which starts gave me a decent advantage.
The first round in MX2 I hit a deep puddle from a leaking pipe or something... I got completely drenched in mud. It was so bad that I actually had to remove my goggles and ended up with tons of roost in my eyes, so that was quite a battle.
Yeah, the first 450 race went really well, I came out the first corner in 2nd and managed to pull in to the lead. Actually one of the best leads I've had in recent memory, about a 25 seconds I believe. That's what happens when you find your rhythm and keep it.
Unfortunately I just learnt this week that I've torn my ACL in the incident... In the second MX2 race I ended up stubbing my foot and was in quite a bit of pain. It was just a loud pop. I had to sit on the side of the track until the initial pain wore off, by then I was already 2 laps down so I just finished the race just to salvage whatever points I could get.
Later on I just went into the next 450 race with a bunch of strapping and really pulled things together and won the moto again. So I'm just happy we were able to make something of it considering the knee injury. I'll be going for surgery after the last round.
Highlights for me would be the two wins on the 450 and gaining a lot points to add to the championship. I believe I'm 16 points out from the lead in MX1 going into the last round. So there's definitely hope I can make it happen for 2018. I'm just going to go in fighting till the final lap and give it my best shot.
A double victory for Goosen as he lead the MX1 race from start to finish.
It was a very strange weekend for me! Winning MX2 and crashing huge in MX1... I’ve been struggling a bit this year in MX2 and finally got two good starts and running up front helped me out big time.
I was 17 points behind in MX1 and I knew I had to win to keep my championship hope alive. I was pushing to hard in the first moto, making the pass into 2nd when I high sided and just slammed into the dirt. Moto 2 was a terrible start and while trying to push up the leaderboard I had a another tip over again! This time I tweaked my shoulder pretty bad and couldn't move it for a lap. Not my day...
The last time I raced a National at Phakisa was on a 65 in 2006. So it's pretty good to be back at a track we raced at as kids. They ripped it deep for the weekend witch made it pretty good for racing. There where huge breaking bumps and a few decent ruts to chose from.
No not really to be honest, I lost a few points at Phakisa and moved to 3rd in the championship in MX1. I was hoping for a good weekend in MX1. But that’s racing for you...
I'm just trying get back into 2nd in the championship in MX1. The goal is to win all 4 heats. So exiting times for the last round.
The boys will continue charging hard 'til the season is over.
Keep up with their progress here: David Goosen - Tristan Purdon
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