Catch me if you can – Uganda tells team Kenya as they shine in FIM motocross challenge
Team Kenya finished second overall on 566 points after two days of thrilling action during the Easter holidays, in the first round, FIM East and Central Africa Motocross Challenge held at the Victoria Raceway Park, Garuga, in Uganda.
It was a performance that drew praise from the East Africa Motocross Sports Association Chairman Mao Wariithi who believes it is a learning step for the Kenyan juniors.
“For our riders, this was eye-opening and I want to thank our hosts for a great performance. Most of our riders were doing such an event for the first time so it is kudos to them for not giving up. We look forward to an even greater event back home come December where we expect a massive turnout of riders in the second round of the East and Central Africa Motocross Championship,” he told People Sport.
Team Uganda who emerged the overall winners on 1,244 points, had entered more riders and in the process won five of the seven classes at the Championship that for the first time incorporated Tanzania who only entered two riders. Kenya won in the Lady Rider category with Natalie Cherono dominating against her Ugandan counterparts in all heats whereas his elder sibling Alex Kandie won in the 125 cc with a total 57 points of the available 60 on offer.
Kenya team Captain Alex Kandie acknowledged the stiff competition from their opponents during the outing but was happy with the team’s overall show.
“It was always going to be tough here but nevertheless I’m happy with what we achieved. It is all about learning for most of us, so we must raise our game going forward,” he said.
Small mishaps
Hosts Uganda were supreme in the MX-65CC, MX-85CC and the MX-1&2 combined with star riders like former Ugandan Team captain Maxime Van Pee and Kylian Wekesa having an afternoon of their lives albeit with small mishaps like falls and fuel challenges. The MX-1&2 classes saw no Kenyan entering this giving the home country bug advantage on the track.
Uganda Captain Arthur Alistair Blick told People Sport that he was excited about the next series in Nairobi hoping it would provide good fodder for fans. “I enjoyed my day out there and so did my team To u know Kenya dominated a couple of classes as did we so I bet that was something the fans loved The next series in Nairobi should be good so we are looking forward to it for sure,” offered the soft-spoken skipper.
Kenya’s other shining star of the afternoon was youngster Dylan Hatanga who finished second overall in the MX-50cc with two consecutive wins in heats two and three Sunday after a horrid ninth-place finish on heat one on Saturday where his bike had mechanical issues in a wet and slippery track.
