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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
ONE of Zimbabwe’s fast rising motocross stars Emmanuel Bako was walking on cloud nine on Saturday night after scooping three top awards at the Bogwheelers Club’s prize-giving day for the 2015 season at Donnybrook. The Bogwheelers Club run the motorcycling sport of motocross in Zimbabwe and on Saturday night they held their prize-giving day in which they rewarded local young and senior riders for their outstanding performances on the track during the 2015 season where they successfully staged the Club and National Championship competitions at Donnybrook Raceway in Harare.

And Bako, a nine-year-old Mai Mugabe Junior School’s Grade Four pupil, scored a hat-trick of victories at this function where he won the 50cc National Championship award, the 50cc Club Championship title and the 65cc B Club Championship accolade to crown a memorable night for himself.

Bako was just in dominant form during the 2015 motocross season in which he won almost every race on the domestic front before he came second in the fight for the 50cc Pro title in the seven-round South African National Championship series.

The promising young biker was then named among the three nominees for the 2015 Junior Sportsman of the Year award in Zimbabwe which was, unfortunately, won by young rower Kyle Hinde.

But Bako, who is now riding in the 65cc A Class this year, found some solace on Saturday night when he walked away with the three top awards at the Bogwheelers Club’s prize-giving day function at Donnybrook.

And this also quickly erased the nightmare he had the previous weekend when he finished 14th overall in the 65cc A Class during the opening round of the 2016 South African National Championship series at Rover in Port Elizabeth.

An elated Bako promised “more fireworks” during this season after scooping the three awards on Saturday night where his name was also engraved on the 50cc Championship trophy.

Bako said he was first shocked and happy at the same time after his latest achievement in his promising career as a motocrosser.

“First of all, I would like to thank God for this gift that I have of being a motocross rider and I would also like to thank the authorities at my new school at Mai Mugabe Junior School in Mazowe who allow me to go and race both here in Zimbabwe and in South Africa despite me being a boarder.

“Although I’m at times starved of the bike during my schooldays, this gives me the opportunity to push harder when I get my hands onto it and I promise more fireworks and more hard working during this year to achieve more podium places both at home and in South Africa ,” said Bako, who is under the guidance of one of the country’s top motocross trainers Stanley Mugiyo.

On Saturday, Bako was emulated by two other top junior riders Kuda Mhene (Jnr) and Daiyaan Manuel who both scooped a number awards during the same Bogwheelers Club prize-giving function.

Mhene (Jnr), a Grade Seven pupil at Hartman House in Harare, was named the 2015 65cc A Class Club Champion while Manuel came third overall in this section before he was awarded the Champion of Champions trophy.

And Mhene (Jnr) could not hide his excitement after picking up the 65cc A Class award ahead of his “arch-rivals” Big “BJ” Chitima (Jnr) and Manuel. “It (2015) was a very good year for me and I had good fun because the battle was good for the top three,” said Mhene (Jnr), who has now graduated to race in the 85cc Class this year.

All these young riders are now preparing to compete in the second round of the 2016 South African National Championship series at Zone 7 in Cape Town on April 2.

They will be joined there by Regan Wasmuth, who finished seventh overall in the 125cc High School Class during the first round of the 2016 South African National Championship series at Rover in Port Elizabeth on February 27, and the exciting eight-year-old 50cc rider Jordan Dewdney.