Heels & Horsepower Magazine

GS Trophy 2022 Qualifier South Africa – Day 3. Team SA is announced!

Saturday’s events at the GS Trophy 2022 Qualifier South Africa culminated in the announcement of Team South Africa, destined to compete in the International GS Trophy 2022 in Albania

After the activity of the first full day of Qualifier action on Friday, the competitors were keen to catch up on some sleep ahead of another busy schedule on the final day. Just after midnight, though, the night air was pierced by sirens summoning the competitors from their tents to their motorcycles for two more night-time exercises.

They were back in their tents two hours later, only to be woken again at 05:00 for a skills test in the bush. This proved to the warm-up exercise before a hearty breakfast, whereafter the competitors continued with several sand exercises, and tackled challenges to test their resilience on steep hills and corners. One of the exercises played out at the dreaded Wall of Life at the CountryTRAX facility, a deep circular pit set at an angle of about 60 degrees that tested the competitors’ nerves, while battling gravity and a tricky entry and exit point – keeping their motorcycles upright.

The competitors were kept busy until the late afternoon, after which time it was the turn of the GS Trophy 2022 Qualifier South Africa marshals to tally the day’s scores.

Saturday evening’s dinner was followed by the final points ceremony and the announcement of Team South Africa that will compete in the International GS Trophy 2022 in Albania.

Team South Africa for the 2022 competition is: Gerrit du Toit (Limpopo), Dalton de Bruin (Free State), and Warren Venter (Gauteng).

Christelle van der Meulen and Hanneli Zondagh were the highest-ranking ladies after the GS Trophy 2022 Qualifier South Africa. The International GS Trophy 2022 organisers now have the task of determining who will compete in the final women’s teams, based on the global entries received. The announcement of the official ladies’ teams to compete in the International GS Trophy 2022 in Albania will follow.

All-in-all, the weekend’s activities near Amersfoort in Mpumalanga again demonstrated the breadth of skill held by GS riders in South Africa. Once the weekend celebrations taper off, preparations will begin in earnest in the hunt for a fourth consecutive International GS Trophy win.   

GS Trophy 2022 Qualifier South Africa – Day 2. Fine riding despite tough competition

The search for members of the South African team headed to Albania 2022 continues!

It was a busy day at the Country TRAX Enduro Park, the site of the GS Trophy 2022 Qualifier South Africa on Friday, 10 September. Everyone had had a good rest after the navigation ride the night before, and the day’s action started immediately after breakfast.

A static exercise on the lawn was followed by various tests of riding skill, teamwork, endurance, and technical know-how. The competitors again treated the organisers and marshals to an awesome display of the finest technical riding despite the tough competition.

After dinner, the scores were announced, and the rankings are as follows:

MEN:

Gerrit du ToitLIM1
Dalton de BruinFS2
JP BoerNW3
Corzel SchoemanFS4
Gerrit CoetzeeEC5
Ruhan de VilliersWC6
Johan HarmseMP7
Warren VenterGP8
Mark Van Rensburg JnrNW9
Tyrall CosbyEC10
Cliff VD  WesthuizenGP11
Mark Van Rensburg SnrWC12
Johan ThiartMP13
Braam EsterhuizenEC14
Chris JonkerMP15
Dishen ValjeeKZN16
James KennedyWC17
Tony Mc CreeKZN18
Bruwer NelFS19
Andrèas van HeerdenNW20
Herman NiemandLIM21
Mishan ValjeeKZN22
Jurie SnymanGP23
Herman du BruynLIM24

WOMEN:

Christelle van der Meulen1
Charine Botha2
Hanneli Zondagh3
Liesl Geyser4
Di McLean5
Celeste Diener6
Bongiwe Didiza7

Another full day of challenges will be undertaken on Saturday ahead of the announcement later that evening of the five-person Team South Africa to tackle the International GS Trophy 2022 in Albania!