It was a weekend of guts, grit, and glory for the Red Bull KTM team as they left everyone in a trail of orange roost in Port Elizabeth. Reigning supreme in the MX1, MX2 and Highschool classes, it was star riders Cameron Durow and Luke Grundy who came to steal the show snatching up the top step in their respective classes.
As a favourite on the calendar, the Rover MX track served nothing but quality racing over the two rounds. With a comfortable lead and one hand on both the MX1 and MX2 Championships, Durow put on one of his best performances of the season to secure the prestigious MX1 title for the very first time and claim the MX2 title for the second consecutive year.
A visibly stoked Durow commented: “My very first MX1 title and a back-to-back MX2 title! I am so excited and can’t be happier with how the weekend went.” He went on to say, “I managed to get 7 out of 8 wins for the two rounds coming close to a perfect double-header weekend. I’m so excited for the last round and to end this year off on a high note.”
In yet another stellar performance, Luke Grundy took a clean sweep to win the High School Championship. All the rider had to do was put the finishing touches on the 54-point lead that he’d established at the doubleheader. With yet another double win, Grundy takes the honoured title for the second year in a row.
“I had such an amazing weekend! Even though I didn’t have perfect starts this weekend and had to work myself back up from being stone last in the second heat in round 7, I still managed to fight for my championship and climb onto that top step for myself and the team. It was absolutely unreal, and I am back-to-back 125 Highschool class champion for 2023.”
Rounding out the squad was Jono Mlimi, who had another tough day in the saddle. The rider found himself having yet again a couple of mechanical issues. “My results weren’t great, but the track was so nice in the 6th round and quite rough in the 7th round which I also really enjoyed. I just tried to get out of the weekend safe and will give it my all in the last round to wrap up the year positively.”
Group manager Grant Frerichs had the following to say about the team’s remarkable performance, “It’s a great feeling wrapping up these championships with the team knowing the pressure is off completely for the final round. At the end of the day, we race to win and Cameron and Luke have done a lot of winning this year and they deserve everything that comes along with these championships. I am proud of both and their work ethic and dedication towards their craft.”
