Windhoek
The Bank Windhoek Namibian Enduro Championship is approaching a dramatic final of the season with only two races left.
Exciting action will this weekend be on display at Farm Döbra, close to Windhoek, with round seven of the championship taking place.
The event on Farm Döbra is also referred to as “Otjihase”, due to its proximity to the Otjihase Mine.
With its diverse landscape, including broad riverbeds, rocky terrain, canyons and breathtaking views, it has become a favourite for many riders. Spectators can follow the action near the pit area along a sandy riverbed.
The Namibian Enduro Championship regulations provide that riders can cancel one result of the eight events of the championship in the final calculation at the end of the season. Factoring this in, Henner Rusch (KTM), Pascal Henle (KTM) and Kai Hennes (KTM) will battle it out for the crown in the motorbikes with more than 250cc class in the last two events.
Currently the three riders are separated by 20 championship points with Rusch 10 points ahead of Henle, and 20 points ahead of Hennes. After winning the last event at Abbabis, Henle will seek to finish ahead of Rush again to keep his championship ambitions alive.
In the motorbikes up to 200cc class, Ingo Waldschmidt (KTM), Marcel Henle (KTM), Tommy Gous (Yamaha) and Joern Greiter (KTM) are all still in championship contention, separated by 23 championship points.
Marcel Henle closed the gap on championship leader Waldschmidt with a victory at Abbabis, and will have to keep up the momentum at Otjihase this weekend.
In the senior motorbikes class, Frank Ahlreip (KTM) has been building the pressure on championship leader Sven Schneidenberger (KTM) with good results in the last two events. After four victories in a row at the beginning of the season, Schneidenberger suffered an injury at Uis and could not keep up with in-form Ahlreip.
The two are now separated by only two championship points, while Werner Wiese (KTM) and Kai Hohmeier (KTM) are equally only separated by two championship points in third and fourth place.
In the clubman’s class, Juergen Gladis (KTM) leads the championship ahead of Gerald Heiser (KTM) by three championship points.
Through the season, the two riders have been in extremely close contention and are likely to finish neck and neck. The race for third place is wide open, with Michael van der Hoven (KTM) and Heinz Erni (KTM) among the contenders.
The off-road bikes class is firmly under control by championship leader Kurt Hartung (KTM), followed by Juan van As (KTM) and Lenny Bagwitz (KTM). In the development class, the top three riders are separated by only 14 points.
To find the venue for this weekend’s event, riders and spectators need to follow the B6 out of Windhoek in an eastern direction towards Gobabis for approximately 15 km, and turn off to the Otjihase Mine. After driving towards the mine for approximately 14 km, the mine entrance will appear. From this point onwards the signage “Enduro” will guide to the pit area.
The Namibian Enduro Club offers quad and off-road motorbike enthusiasts the possibility to enjoy Enduro sport and encourages newcomers to join. For further information please link on to the Namibian Enduro Club website www.namibianenduro.com for more information and registration forms as well.