CORRESPONDENT GOBABIS was the scene of the 4. Moto-Cross Championships race and so far it has been, without exaggerating, the highlight of the season. Wikus Engelbrecht, the driving force behind this spectacle in Gobabis, had done a great job organising this event together with his men. Everything was just perfect! The track was exceptional and the 30-metre jump just in front of the beer tent was the attraction. A big praise and thanks goes to Tobie Barlow. It was great to see some riders return to the sport, and even more delightful was the fact that a couple of former stars such as Ian Kotze, Jaques du Plessis, Heino Windisch and Rainer Becker took part in the Open Class again. With 86 entrants it was the biggest field of riders this season! The presented sport was excellent in all classes and Ross Branch was the worthy winner of the day, who took the “Big-5-Cup” home with him. Ross Branch dominated the Open-125cc Class just as he pleased, but a local hero – 6 x former champion Rainer Becker – made overall 2nd place. The reigning champion Ronnie Adams started out behind the afore-mentioned riders with a good 3rd place in the first heat, followed by a 5th place in the second heat and a 5th place in the “Big-5-King of the Dirt”. Taking part in the Open Class as well as the Quad-A Class is just too much! He realised this and will resign from Quad racing as of 2008. Frank Klosta had to deal with clutch problems in the first heat, but made two 3rd places in the following heats. A super achievement! Alexander Howard made two 4th places but in the “King of the Dirt” he had an engine failure. Arno Engels, the star from Swakopmund, crashed in the first heat, together with Animal Wise. In the second heat he had a pap wiel but was able to get across the finish line, ranking 6th. In the “King of the Dirt” he was able to make a good 4th place. Surprising was once again the performance by little Mark Sternagel: After achieving a maximum number of points in the 85cc Class he made a sensational 8th place in the “Big-5-King of the Dirt”! Amazing! The most unlucky person for years now – Brannigan “Animal” Wise – rode his first race in Gobabis after having had a bad crash in February; again he went over the bars! After the start of the “King of the Dirt” he crashed so unfortunately that he had to be brought to hospital with a suspected pelvic fracture. From all of us here: get well soon! Overall results Open/125ccm Class 1. Ross Branch, Botswana, Wreckers Campbell-Kawasaki, 60 points 2. Rainer Becker, Windhoek, Zenner-Novel-Yamaha, 51 3. Frank Klosta, Windhoek, Refrigeration-Services-Yamaha, 41 4. Ronnie Adams, Kapps Farm, JÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¤germeister-Suzuki, 37 5. Arno Engels, Windhoek, Investment Cars-Honda, 33 6. Sascha Becker, Windhoek, Uwe’s Autoelectric-Honda, 27 7. Alexander Howard, Windhoek, Seasonaire-Yamaha, 26 8. Heino Windisch, Walvis-Bay, Honda, 25 9. Jose Texeira, Angola, E.L.Sea Products-Suzuki, 18 10. Tony Viljoen, Windhoek, Joker’s Pizzaria-Honda, 14 11. Ian Kotze, Windhoek, Lodge-istix-Suzuki, 14 12. Eckhard Hall, Swakopmund, Coastal Racing-Honda, 12 13. Ruhan Gous, Windhoek, Coastal Racing-Honda, 12 14. Gerhard Simon, Omaruru, Honda, 8 15. Mark Sternagel, Windhoek, Sternbau-KTM, 8 The little ones also battled it out for national honour. In the 50cc Class Michal Barlow stayed victorious with a maximum number of points ahead of William Smith. Yoshua Becker improved from 4th rank to 3rd rank up to 2nd rank in the third heat and made an overall 3rd place. Eric Garbers won the 65cc Class but had to vasbyt to fight off Tristan Muller’s attacks. Matthew Nederlof also made a strong appearance and made 3rd place ahead of Pauli Loots! Mark Sternagel stays unconquered in the 85cc Class! In the second heat, Jaco Loots who is quick at the start, could grab the hole shot, but already 4 laps further Mark could assume the lead. Eric Garbers also rides in the 85cc class and landed in a very good 3rd place. Mark Ratheiser won the Clubmen’s Class but had to accept defeat in the 3rd heat, when Billy Heigan was just quicker. Billy made an overall 2nd place ahead of Iwan Esterhuizen. The number of participants in the various Quad Classes has apparently decreased a bit, but this might also be due to the fact that some riders didn’t want to come all the way to Gobabis. In the Quads-B Class Up to 240cc the winner was once again Eugene Slippers, ahead of Ecki Spoerer and Marko Robke. The elite class, the Quads-A Class Over 240cc, was won by no other than Ronnie Adams, ahead of Dirk Baard and Jan de Haan. This was also exactly the same placing as in the “Quads King of the Dirt”. In the Quads Clubmen Class there was full participation. Michael Barlow stayed victorious over Wolfgang Rohl and Nokkie Maree. Good sport was offered here! In the Ladies Quads there was a Bochert Festival, with Bollie as the winner and sister Maike in 2nd place. The third rostrum spot was reserved for Cee-Anne-Greyling. Celene Adams settled for 4th place, suffering from strong pain in her arms from the healed fractures. The Mini Quads were also present. Here the kids raced across the children’s track! Joana Steenkamp won ahead of Jaques Maree and Sune Garbers. A top event reached its conclusion. A thank you goes to the sponsor Wikus Engelbrecht from the “Big-5 Hotel” and to the families Garbers, Sternagel and Loots for their voluntary help in administrative tasks.