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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
THE infamous sand track of Rover in Port Elizabeth played host to round one of the 2018 South African National Motocross Championship series on Saturday and talented young Zimbabwean rider Emmanuel Bako showed he is going to be a force to be reckoned with this year when he swept the opposition away in the 65cc Class.

The challenging track made for an incredible start to the season with some exciting bar to bar racing and Bako (12), a Grade Six pupil at Heritage School in Harare, was back in solid form as he first came second in Heat One before moving a gear up to take Heat Two and claim the first step on the podium ahead of two South African bikers Lucca Mynhardt and Lucas Venter at the end of business on Saturday.

This was Bako’s second pole position in a row inside a week Down South after he emerged as the top dog in the 65cc Class in the opening round of the 2018 South African Northern Regions Championship series at Sasolburg on February 10.
On Saturday, Bako kept that momentum going when he competed in round one of the South African National Championship series where he first finished second behind Mynhardt in Heat One before cleaning him up in Heat Two to be crowned the overall winner of the day in the 65cc Class.

In fact, Bako performed extremely well on Saturday considering Rover is one of the most difficult motocross tracks in South Africa as it is sandy and the young Zimbabwean rider had no choice but roll up his sleeves and get the job done on the occasion of his father and manager Brighton “Bucks” Bako’s birthday.

It was not easy for him because the 65cc Class had a strong field of 16 riders who wanted to get maximum points on this sandy track but he refused to give them a chance as he delivered a perfect birthday present to his father by taking pole position at the end of the day on Satuday and vowed to win the remaining six rounds of the South African Nationals which end in October.
“It was tough out there because Rover is sandy and any silly mistake could have proved costly to me today but I knew what I was up against in the sand and after finishing second in Heat One, I had no other option than to cross the finish line first in Heat Two and that’s exactly what I did.

“I would like to thank God for his love and protection. I’m looking forward to a good season and if I stay fit, I think I will be crowned the 65cc Champion at the end of the championship series in October,” a smiling Emmanuel Bako said after the race on Saturday.

By finishing first overall in the 65cc Class, Emmanuel Bako stole the thunder from a number of other top junior and senior Zimbabwean riders who took part in the opening round of the South African Nationals.

Zimbabwe’s champion rider Jayden Ashwell competed in the main MX1 Class for senior bikers and he settled for fourth place overall behind South Africans Tristan Purdon, Caleb Tennant and Kerim Fitz-Gerald who took the first three places.
There were 21 riders in the MX1 Class.

Another Zimbabwean biker Daiyaan “D” Manuel found the going tough in the 85cc Pro Mini Class in which he finished in sixth place at the end of business on Saturday.

First place in the 85cc Pro Mini Class, which had 20 riders, went to one of South Africa’s top junior riders Joshua Mlimi who was followed home by his fellow “countryboys” Nate McLellan, Hayden Tully, Dylan Kirk and Leonard du Toit with Zimbabwe’s Manuel settling for sixth place.

Manuel was competing in the 85cc Pro Mini Class for the first time in the South African Nationals after he was crowned the 65cc Champion in the same series last year.