Motoring Reporter
Round five of the Bank Windhoek Namibia National Enduro Series, which took place on Farm Abbabis in the Karibib district, was not about speed, but about endurance and technical riding ability.
The greater part of the route at Farm Abbabis was all new with new mountain passes that some compared to being tougher than some Red Bull Braveman sections, riverbeds that went on for ages and fast flowing farm roads in between to catch your breath before the next technical section.
It was the first time since 2011 that the Series was held at this venue. Despite the tough race course, there were no reported injuries in either the bike or quad classes.
In the Open Class, Henner Rush took the win fifteen minutes ahead of second placed Ingo Waldschmidt. A new name to the podium of the Open Class, Dirk Hohmeier, took third place rounding of the field of 10 entries.
Class 7 had the most entries with 19 entrants. Jürgen Gladis, who grew up on Farm Abbabis, came in third place, behind Rainer Sentefol, who came in second place. Sentefol was beaten by Tom Moths for the top spot with a two minutes lead.
In class 1, there were six entries, and some very tight racing. The top three were all within three minutes of each other. Kai-Uwe Brettschneider took third place for the day behind Claude Brendel. First place went to Pascal Henle.
In class 10, there were only two entrants and Marius Faul edged out Mark Johnston for the win. Juan Tyran was the only entrant in class 9 and was therefore the winner.
Franco Routh was the winner in class 8, followed by Uwe Brockmann and J.L Opperman in second and third place respectively.
Class 5 had three entrants, but Stefan Du Plessie did not finish the race. Current championship points leader Sven Schneidenberger came in second place, behind Frank Ahlreip.
In class 4, there were four National Ladies who entered. Julia Moths came in fourth place, with Claire Brendel in third place behind Shannon Rowland. Maike Bochert took the top spot with a minute’s gap.
Clinto Hilfiker won class 3, followed by Gary Rowland. There were only three entrants, but Fanie Steenkamp did not finish the race due to mechanical problems with his bike.