Staff Reporter
Windhoek
One of the toughest races of the year will once again be hosted at Farm Lichtenstein, south of Windhoek, this weekend, replacing the fast and flowing tracks of the Witvlei Enduro with slow and technical riding at Farm Lichtenstein for round 2 of the Namibian Enduro season.
With a possibility of rain leading up to the event, Lichtenstein will surely live up to its reputation as one of the most difficult and demanding races of the season.
In 2017, Henner Rusch was in unstoppable form in the Open Class, as he romped to victory over Marcel Henle, beating the youngster by almost 20 minutes. Starting behind Henle, the Rusch’s experience shone through as the veteran put the youngster under pressure right from the start of the race.
With mistakes bound to happen, Henle found himself on the ground in lap 1 and Rusch managed to scamper away for the victory. Corne Visser brought his Sherco home for a fine third place with Heiko Stranghohner and Gernot Bahr rounding out the top 5.
Rusch will once again be very difficult to beat in 2018, but Henle has put in a lot of work in the off-season period to improve his technical riding. Time will tell who comes out on top over the weekend.
Joern Greiter won the Master Bikes class last year, with David Brown and Frank Ahlreib finishing in second and third places, respectively. The return of Ingo Waldschmidt will put the cat among the pigeons in 2018.
Greiter, however, has an excellent chance of beating Waldschmidt, as the technical terrain of Lichtenstein is more suited to Greiters’ riding style. A thrilling battle is on the cards.
The 2017 Support Bikes race was won by Jurgen Gladis, storming to an 18-minute win over Michael van der Hoven and Wayne Schablinski. The possibility of rain for 2018 will make things very difficult indeed for the riders. Support Bikes share a lot of the track with the Open Class, so the riders’ fitness and determination will be tested to the limit. With a lot of new faces in this class for 2018, Lichtenstein could be a rude awakening for the unprepared.
Last year, Teddy Kausch put in an excellent performance to win the Rookies Class ahead of Keanu Webber and Robin Mumford. With all three riders either having moved to the Support Class for 2018 or left the sport, a new winner will be crowned in 2018.
Predictions are difficult but the rider with the best fitness will stand out from the rest of the field. The race will be held on April 14, 2018, at Farm Lichtenstein close to Omeya Estate south of Windhoek. For more info visit www.namibianenduro.com.