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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
THIS year’s season-ending Zimbabwe Summer Series is unlikely to attract top motocross riders from overseas as has been the norm in the past years.

It is now proving to be expensive to bring them in, according to one of the event’s organisers Gary Grainger.
The Zimbabwe Summer Series is a three-day annual event held during the second week of December and marks the end of the motocross season in this country.

And the Bogwheelers Club, who run this exciting motorcycling sport of motocross in this country, recently indicated this year’s Zimbabwe Summer Series will be held on December 11, 13 and 15 at Donnybrook Park.

It will once again consist of two Supercross (night racing events) and one full day of motocross action.
The opening two Supercross events have been slated for December 11 and 13 and the series will close with a full day of motocross action on December 15.

This three-day series has, over the past years, attracted top junior and senior riders from overseas, mainly from the United Kingdom and the United States, who added an international flavour to this event.

Only last year, the Zimbabwe Summer Series revived its romance with top riders from the United Kingdom when Bailey Johnston, the 85cc (small wheel) British Champion, graced this competition.

But Grainger, a seasoned motocross trainer and administrator who is one of the organisers of this year’s Zimbabwe Summer Series, told The Herald yesterday this year’s event is unlikely to attract top junior and senior riders from overseas.

“We are still working on bringing foreign riders for this event but I think the majority of them will be coming from South Africa,” Grainger said.

This year’s Zimbabwe Summer Series is also likely to involve racers from Botswana and Zambia who are always part of this three-day motorcycling jamboree at Donnybrook.

They will be joined on the track on December 11, 13 and 15 by a number of Zimbabwe’s top junior and senior riders who are likely to be led by the South Africa-based duo of Jayden Ashwell and Regan Wasmuth.

The country’s top junior riders Daiyaan “D” Manuel, Tristan Grainger, Emmanuel Bako, Jordan Dewdney, Dillan Faasen, Hunter Moore, Bako’s cousin Munyaradzi, Declan Barrett, Blake Prinsloo, Joshua Halkier, Jack Gobey and Luke Southen are also expected to be part of the cast at this year’s Zimbabwe Summer Series.

Five-year-old Victor Nyamupfukudza, who will next year move a class up from the PeeWees, which is designed for riders under the age of seven, to the 50cc Class, is set to make his debut appearance at the Zimbabwe Summer Series next month and will be joined by his 12-year-old sister Tadiwanashe, an 85cc Class rider.

Simba Nyamupfukudza, the father of these two promising young riders, said yesterday that his two children are already preparing to take part in this year’s Zimbabwe Summer Series where they will both be looking at getting places on the podium in their respective classes.