Wade Prinsloo and Julia Kotze held off all challenger and took advantage of near perfect conditions to win the overall men and women’s titles respectively at Round 2 of the Gauteng Enduro Series, presented by Suzuki at Grootfontein Bike Park, Pretoria on Sunday 8 May 2023.
Prinsloo (main image), who lives in the North West province, was dominant in winning five of the seven stages. But as is the case with Enduro, one bad stage can be a huge penalty. Prinsloo had that covered though and also finished third on one stage with fifth his worst finish on Stage 4.
Prinsloo’s total time was 10 minutes 28.930 seconds. His primary challengers turned out to be youngsters. Gauteng Junior champion, Divan van Straaten won the Junior men’s title and finished second overall in 10:36.453 with Youth racer, Lance Murray, surprising everyone with a category win and third place overall in a time of 10:37.749, which included a stage win.
Resident local, Henre Myburgh and another North West racer, Christan Kirsten finished fourth and fifth overall respectively.
“I took my runs a little slower than flat-out race pace to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes that would cost me extra time. The conditions were perfect – it’s normally dry and loose at Grootfontein, but not this time. The bit of rain before the event made the track conditions sweet!” said Prinsloo.
“I enjoy the variety the Grootfontein venue offers. Fast sections, tight corners, flat-out pedal sections, some jumps and, my favourite, rock gardens,” added Prinsloo.
For Kotze, it was another important chapter in er Enduro racing story. She’s Gauteng’s best female Enduro racer currently, but she too has to be wary of young racers that are improving every race.
Seven trouble-free stages gave Kotze wins in all of them and a total time of 11:40.572. This put her in 21stposition overall and a solid 25 seconds ahead of Youth racer, Arielle Behr, who clocked 12:05.886. Third place overall went to Philippa Spies who clocked 12:28.088.
“It was a really good day for me. I didn’t make any significant mistakes, no punctures, no mechanicals, just good fun!” said Kotze.
“I enjoy racing at Grootfontein. The stages aren’t super challenging, but I love the fact that all the obstacles have multiple line choices and you can create your own little gap jumps. Grootfontein is as fun as you make it,” added Kotze, who is an attorney by profession.
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Leading results
Overall Men
1 Wade Prinsloo 10:28.930
2 Divan van Straaten 10:36.453
3 Lance Murray 10:37.749
4 Henre Myburgh 10:41.209
5 Christan Kirsten 10:46.577
6 Danny-Lee Fowler 10:53.669
7 Jason-Trevor Abbott 10:59.195
8 Ryan van der Spuy 11:00312
9 Bryce Munro 11:03.041
10 Joshua West 11:06.690
Elite Men
1 Wade Prinsloo 10:28.930
2 Christan Kirsten 10:46.577
3 Jason-Trevor Abbott 10:59.195
Under-23 Men
1 Weihan Nagel 11:15.465
2 Matteo Damilano 11:50.273
3 Ruben Fitton 12:11.159
Junior Men
1 Divan van Straaten 10:36.453
2 Henre Myburgh 10:41.209
3 Cade Badenhorst 11:23.823
Youth Men
1 Lance Murray 10:37.749
2 Joshua West 11:06.690
3 Joshua Kannis 11:22.049
Sub-Junior Boys
1 Luke Stafford 11:47.171
2 Michael Kannis 12:01.472
3 Luca Dos Santos13:23.520
Sub-Veteran Men
1 Bryce Munro 11:03.041
2 Robert Keen 11:41.585
3 Andre Spies 12:13.620
Veteran Men
1 Danny-Lee Fowler 10:53.669
2 Ryan van der Spuy 11:00312
3 Carl Deary 11:37036
Master Men
1 Sean O’Flynn-Madden 11:22.981
2 Sean Badenhorst 12:00.045
3 Andre Vorster 12:51.837
Grandmaster Men
1 Mike Behr 13:31.017
Sport Men
1 Grant Samons 11:29.404
2 Timothy Boschoff 11:39.178
3 Cilliers Marais 12:12.926
eBike Men
1 Tyrone Sterne 11;41.815
2 Richard Crouse 11:57.634
3 Barry Crouse 12:08.746
Sports Lite Men
1 Xander Vogel 7:19.391
2 JT Tonks 8:26.654
3 Dirk Fouche 8:33.816
Sprog Boys
1 Evert Maritz 6:52.878
2 Luan Labuschagne 7:18.045
3 Ethan Duvenage7:24.236
Nipper Boys
1 Jozua Bruwer 7:53.125
2 Liam Marnewick 10:04.394
3 Fabian Dos Santos 10:50.072
Overall Women
1 Julia Kotze 11:40.572
2 Arielle Behr 12:05.886
3 Philippa Spies 12:28.088
4 Louise Kotze 12:46.255
5 Amanda Keen 13:16.933
6 Layla Greyling 13:28.876
7 Kelly Marnewick 13:44.776
8 Irma du Plooy 13:47.280
9 Mattie Viviers 13:48.789
10 Talia Behr 14:09.181
Elite Women
1 Julia Kotze 11:40.572
2 Giulia Damilano 16:51.579
Under-23 Women
1 Talia Behr 14:09.181
Youth Women
1 Arielle Behr 12:05.886
2 Layla Greyling 13:28.876
Sub-Junior Girls
1 Lillian Bruwer 14:56.100
Sub-Veteran Women
1 Philippa Spies 12:28.088
2 Amanda Keen 13:16.933
Veteran Women
1 Louise Kotze 12:46.255
2 Kelly Marnewick 13:44.776
3 Irma du Plooy 13:47.280
Master Women
1 Christelle Le Roux 16:58.804
Sport Women
1 Wendy Odendaal 13:30.876
