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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
EMMANUEL Bako once again raised the Zimbabwean flag high when he settled for the second step on the podium in the 85cc (Junior)  Class during round four of the 2019 South African National Motocross Championship series at Dirt Bronco Raceway in Krugersdorp on Saturday.

Bako, a 12-year-old Grade Seven pupil at Heritage School in Harare, was the toast of the day for a number of top Zimbabwean junior and senior riders who took part in this event as he was the only rider from this country who managed to finish on the podium, coming second behind South Africa’s James Thompson in the 85cc (Junior) Class as he closed the gap on the current group standings leader Seth Young of South Africa with three more rounds to go in this tough seven-round series.

Fresh from winning the 85cc Class at a Supercross Night Racing series at Smoking Pistons in Johannesburg on June 28, Bako did extremely well in both heats on Saturday considering that during the opening heat, another rider ran straight into him at the start gates and he was left behind.

But Bako revved up his 2020 KTM bike with aplomb from last position to finish in fourth place and then in Heat Two, he left the rest of the field for dead to pass through the chequered flag first for a second overall place finish of the day with 44 points, three behind the overall winner Thompson who was mounting a Yamaha.

Third place in the 85cc (Junior) Class went to another South African rider Timo Maximo Toepfer on a Husqvarna.

Bako was satisfied with his overall performance on Saturday.

“Remember I missed the first round of the South African Nationals in February due to a family bereavement so I had a lot of catching-up to do in this class and coming second overall today is not all that bad because it has helped me to close the gap on Seth Young in the Group Standings and I hope to perform much better in the last three rounds and hopefully pip him (Young) for the title in October,” Bako told The Herald from Krugersdorp on Saturday night.

While Bako was all smiles after taking a credible second place finish in the 85cc (Junior) Class, it was all gloomy for the other four Zimbabwean riders Daiyaan Manuel, Tristan Grainger, Regan Wasmuth and Jayden Ashwell who all failed to get into the top three of the different classes that they took part in during round four of the South African Nationals at Dirt Bronco on Saturday.

Manuel, a former 500cc Class Champion in South Africa, found the going tough in the 85cc ProMini Class as he finished in 11th position. There was a good field of 17 riders in this class whose first three places went to South African bikers Leonard du Toit, Blake Young and Dylan Lloyd Kirk.

Former Zimbabwe senior champion rider Ashwell also failed to get a place on the podium in the main MX1 Class after having first finished in fifth place in Heat One.

It was the same story for two other Zimbabwean riders Grainger and Wasmuth who raced in the High School (125cc) and MX2 classes respectively.

Round five of the South African Nationals is scheduled for August 10 in Pietermaritzburg and will be followed by the last two rounds on September 21 in Welkom and October 26 at Terra Topia in Johannesburg.