Branch loses African motocross title
Kabelo Boranabi | Tuesday August 29, 2017 16:51
He won the title last year in Kenya but disappointedly lost it on home soil to South African David ‘Goose’ Goosen, who had a great weekend in the MX1 category.
Branch had a bad weekend as on Saturday in the heats he had a problem with the start, as he sat on the gate, about to bang bars on the holeshot. He recovered well and showed great speed scoring one of the fastest lap times of the event. Earlier on Sunday, Branch was confidently leading the pack but crashed on a curve allowing his opponents to take advantage.
He recovered well to finish in the top five. In the final race of the event, Branch was playing catch up, as Goosen was much quicker off the gate. Fatigue seemed to catch up with the 30-year-old, but showed great endurance to finish fourth, with the local crowd showering their hero with cheers as he walked out of the track with his head held high.
Speaking to journalists after the race, Branch could not hide his disappointment of losing his title after a demanding three-heat event. “Of course you always want to defend (the title). Sometimes things do not happen the way you would want with guys going so fast. It is hard to come from a crash because you need points. In every round you have to stay consistent.”
“Crashing happens, of course we do not like it but at the speed we were going, trying to get to the front it can (happen) in a split of a second. It is really difficult but that’s what we trained and prepared for,” he said.
Branch, who captained the local side lauded his teammates for sterling performances despite finishing without individual accolades. “The team performed amazingly. I’m so happy about their performances; everybody stayed on the bikes. Everyone scored points; they did exactly what we needed them to do, the guys who crashed got up. It’s a team effort and I am waiting to see where we stand in the log standings. If it is anything in the top five, I would be very happy.”
“I wanted to come and win on home soil and defend my title. Things did not work out the way I wanted. But I am very happy for the team. Some things did not work and we will try again next year,” he said. The three-day event attracted hundreds of riders from Namibia, Zambia, South Africa, Uganda, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Kenya amongst others. The riders competed in nine categories, which are the MX1, MX2, MX125, MX85, MX65, MX50, masters MX, Veterans MX and the ladies class.