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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
THREE of Zimbabwe’s top motocross riders — Emmanuel Bako, Regan Wasmuth and Jayden Ashwell — will once again fall under the spotlight in South Africa this weekend when they compete in the penultimate round of the 2018 South African National Championship series in Welkom.

The sixth round of the tough seven-round South African National Championship series will be staged at Phakisa Motocross Club in Welkom tomorrow where Bako, Wasmuth and Ashwell will be Zimbabwe’s flagbearers in the 65cc, 125cc High School and MX1 classes respectively.

While Ashwell is out of the running for the main MX1 Class title, pressure will be on Bako (12) and Wasmuth (17) who still have a chance of sneaking in and win the 65cc and 125cc High School titles if they secure top steps on the podium at the end of business tomorrow.

Overall victories for both Bako and Wasmuth in their respective classes tomorrow will put them in good stead of being crowned  the 2018 South African champions when the series closes its gates for the year on October 20 at Dirt Bronco in Johannesburg.

Bako will begin the day at Welkom tomorrow lying in third place in the 65cc Class Standings with 192 points, 36 behind group leader Lucca Mynhardt of South Africa and the young Zimbabwean rider needs nothing short of an outright victory to close the gap between himself and his South African rival in this division. Anything less than a first-place finish at the end of business tomorrow will see Bako kissing goodbye to his chances of being crowned the 2018 65cc Class Champion in South Africa.

Bako was at one stage in a powerful position in the 65cc Class in which he was sharing the lead in the Championship points with Mynhadrt but a big crash in the 1st heat of the fifth round of the series at Zone 7 in Cape Town on August 11 saw him being sidelined and that left the door open for the latter to open up a 36-point lead over him in the title race.

Bako’s fellow countryboy Wasmuth also has got some work to do in tomorrow’s fifth round of the South African Nationals at Welkom as he must cut a 31-point deficit between himself and the group leader in the 125cc High School Class Standings, Justin Sangster of South Africa.

Sangster is sitting pretty at the top of the 125cc High School Class Standings with 226 points while Wasmuth is a distant second with 195 points and just like Bako, he also needs nothing short of an outright victory tomorrow to keep his title hopes alive going into the final round of the series on October 20.

But Wasmuth has got a psychological advantage over Sangster after beating him into second place during the 2018 FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations Championships which were held last month at Kitwe in Zambia.

And both Bako and Wasmuth are ready to deliver the goods in Welkom tomorrow.

Another top Zimbabwean motocross rider Ashwell will also be in action at Welkom tomorrow where he will be competing in the main MX1 Class in which he will be jostling for the top step on the podium with his South African rivals Caleb Tennant, Tristan Purdon, David Goosen and Matthew Malan.