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Tanya

Collin Matiza in BIRMINGHAM, England
TOP Zimbabwean female motocross rider arrived here on Thursday afternoon for this weekend’s British MX Kids Championships and quickly found herself in the good company of fellow young Zimbabwean biker Tyler Mabika.

The 2017 British MX Kids Championships are the biggest youth motocross event in the UK and they will this year be held over three days – from today to Monday – at the famous Motoland Mildenhall track at Bury St Edmunds, just over 100km south of London. And the CBZ Holdings-sponsored Muzinda [12] will be joined at this tough three-day youth championship event, which attracts over 300 young riders from all over Europe, by fellow junior Zimbabwean rider Mabika.

Nine-year-old Mabika was born here in England of Zimbabwean parents and was introduced to the tough sport of motocross by his father Artwell who has a strong passion for motorcycling events.

Muzinda is also sponsored by Zimbabwe’s mobile service providers NetOne and has been entered to race in the 85cc Class in which she will also be racing with boys while Mabika will be revving it off in the boys 65cc Class and they are both raring to go.

Muzinda will be competing at this big British youth motocross event for the first time in her young and promising career. “I have ridden in Europe before when I toured the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy in August last year but I think this is going to be my first biggest challenge as a motocross rider on the international scene. “I am told each class at this event attracts more than 40 riders which is a very large field and I think this will give me a good chance to see where exactly I am as a rider.

“Back home in Zimbabwe I usually ride with about eight to 10 riders at Donnybrook but this weekend I will be coming up against some of the top young British and other female riders from all over Europe and this will definitely test my abilities or skills at the highest level. “But like what my father and trainer – Tawanda Muzinda – has said, our mission here is not to really to win but this is my first step to get the much-needed international exposure and also to mix with the elite riders from all over Europe.

“The secret here is to get in the mix, know how it is done at this level and gauge myself at the end of the day,” Tanya said. She was set to leave for Bury St Edmunds yesterday where she will be camped for the next three days, taking on some of the best young female bikers in Europe.

And her host, Artwell Mabika, said yesterday that she just has to enjoy herself rather than trying to get a place on the podium. “This is a whole new experience for Tanya because the British MX Kids Championships brings together all the top, top riders from across Europe and we will be asking for too much from Tanya to get a place on the podium.

“What I think she needs to do is just to get out there and try to enjoy herself as much as possible and get some international experience or exposure which is very important at this stage of her promising career.

“But when she comes back here next year for the same event, I think she will now know how it is to race against the elite riders from Europe and then try to outsmart them,” Artwell Mabika said.