Collin Matiza Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE’S champion rider Jayden Ashwell is currently back in the country and will lead his nation’s quest to land this year’ s FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations Championships title at Donnybrook Raceway in Harare at the weekend.

Ashwell has this year been based in South Africa where he is competing in that country’s Monster Energy National Championship series but the talented rider is already back in Zimbabwe ahead of this weekend’s big international motorcycling event which brings together top senior and junior riders from Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

More than 200 riders from these seven African countries are expected to take part in this event and will compete in nine classes, ranging from 50cc Class to the Masters. Shaun Whyte, the chairman of the Bogwheelers Club who run the motorcycling sport of motocross in this country and are the organisers of this year’s African Nations Championships, said the presence of Ashwell will be a big boost to Team Zimbabwe during the weekend’s big event.

“Jayden Ashwell is back home from South Africa and that is good for us. He has been training hard at Donnybrook in preparation for this weekend’s international event and I think he will give riders from our main rivals South Africa a hard time during this competition,” Whyte said.

Ashwell rides in the main MX1 Class.

Team Zimbabwe for this year’s FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations Championships will be captained by the country’s former champion rider Ashley Thixton who will be riding in the MX2 Class.

The country’s other top senior rider Sean Mitchell will not feature for Team Zimbabwe at the weekend as he is currently not fit to ride in this event, according to Whyte.

But the country’s top junior and senior riders such as Emmanuel Bako, Cameron Thixton, Kuda Mhene (Jnr), Tanya Muzinda, Davin Cocker, Ricky Whyte, Big “BJ” Chitima, Jordan Dewdney, Daiyaan Manuel, Regan Wasmuth, Wade Ashwell, Cole Bond, Shane and Blaize Thomas, Mudiwa Chigumba, Ryan Masimo and Tristan Grainger are all expected to be in action at Donnybrook this weekend.

One of these riders, Manuel, recently spent two weeks in Germany training with two of that country’s top motocross clubs, RMC Reutlingen and MSC Waldkappel, in preparation for this weekend’s African Nations Championships and it will be interesting to see how he will perform at this event after learning “one or two” new riding tricks from the Germans.

Manuel (10), who returned home on Monday from Europe, rides in the 65cc A Class and will be joined in this race category by fellow young, talented local riders Mhene (Jnr) and Chitima (Jnr) during this weekend’s big event at Donnybrook.

Focus will also be on another gifted, young local rider Bako who this year has been causing waves in South Africa where he has been sweeping the opposition away in both the Monster Energy National Championship and the WOMZA Sunoco series.

The country’s top female rider Muzinda will also be out to impress during this weekend’s event at Donnybrook where she will be representing her country in the 85cc Class.

Muzinda usually rides in the 65cc A Class but has moved up to 85cc Class for the African Nations Championships.

In fact, by yesterday, 11 female riders from different countries had entered to compete in the 85cc Class at this weekend’s event.

Twenty-six riders have also registered to compete in the 50cc Class while 27 will do battle in the 65cc A class. There is also a big field of 32 competitors in the 85cc Class and 24 in the 125cc Class.

The main MX1 Class and MX2 Class have 22 and 28 riders respectively followed by the Veterans’ 18 and the Masters’ six.

Scrutineering of the bikes will be done tomorrow followed by a practice session by all the riders on Saturday before a full day of real competition on Sunday, starting at 10am. Entry fee for the spectators on Sunday has been pegged at $5 per person for adults and $2 for children under the age of 12.

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