Motocross team to go flat out in Namibia
Kabelo Boranabi | Friday August 28, 2026 10:20
The Botswana Motor Sport (BMS) held a send-off ceremony for the 11-rider team on Tuesday ahead of the FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations. The race will take place at Gallina Motocross Park in Windhoek from tomorrow until Sunday. Team Botswana team left for Namibia yesterday and is expected back home on Monday. BMS is sending one of its smallest contingents to the championship due to limited resources, but captain Bradley Pieterse believes the squad has what it takes to represent the country with pride.
Pieterse will compete in the Veteran class and leads a team that includes experienced MX2 rider, Kosmas Mamaloukos. The MX125 class will feature Radikolo Linchwe, Tristen Moutlaotse, and Kazz Gouveia, whilst Casey van Niekerk and Shawn Hughes will compete in the 50cc category. Lourens Erasmus, Adam Meyer, and Tazha Geofrey make up the MX Lites team, whilst Elang Chibana is the sole female rider in the travelling squad and will compete in the Women's MX class. Speaking at the send-off, Pieterse thanked those who made the trip possible and said Botswana was taking its strongest available team to Namibia. “We have got sitting in front of you the best team that we could have brought together.
We are going to get out there, represent, and show all of Africa what Botswana is capable of doing,” he said. For his part, BMS vice president for bikes, Gomolemo Chibana, reminded the riders that the MXoAN is a team competition where every point matters. “You are not going out there as an individual. It is teamwork. You guys are going to work together to get some points there, and that is what we want to bring back home,” he said. Chibana urged the riders to compete within their capabilities and conduct themselves well, noting that they would be carrying Botswana's colours on the continental stage. Meanwhile, Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) sports development officer for motorsport, Phillip Machira, praised BMS for giving young riders an opportunity to compete at Africa's biggest motocross stage.
He said the youthful composition of the squad aligns with the commission's focus on developing the next generation of athletes. Team Botswana heads to Windhoek with a history of punching above its weight at the MXoAN. The country's best finish came on home soil in 2017, when it finished fourth overall. The team also enjoyed a strong run of four consecutive top-five finishes between 2016 and 2019. After a difficult ninth-place finish in Morocco in 2024, Botswana bounced back last year in Zimbabwe, finishing fifth overall and collecting class honours, including victory in the Veteran class and silver in MX Lites. With a smaller squad this time around, Botswana will need every rider firing on all cylinders.