RAIN BRINGS COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO RESCUE GAUTENG OFFROAD REGIONAL

The recent heavy rains across the north and east of South Africa have come as an answer to prayers for many and few more so than the farming community around Settlers in Limpopo where the second round of the Gauteng Offroad Cross Country bikes and quads regional is due to take place this weekend.

However welcome though, the rains ruined the planned race route in the drenched turf and forced  Louwrens Mahoney, multiple SA Offroad Champ and legend of the sport, to make the call and move the race venue 40km north into bushveld terrain, which offers better drainage and firmer race conditions should more rain fall.

“It is amazing to see a community who prayed together for rain now come together and make this event happen,” a clearly overwhelmed Mahoney said. “The farming community have been incredible. We knew we had to move the race and doing that with only days before the event would have been impossible without the farming community’s support.”

According to Mahoney the farmers have supplied him with more tractors he can use and all the manpower he might need to pull off in a couple of days what took him weeks to do before the rains came.

“The new route is going to be really good. This type of terrain is the type I used to love when I raced,” said Mahoney.

Mahoney recently retired from racing and together with his girlfriend, previous Miss South Africa Marilyn Ramos, took on the organisation of the GXCC as the Gauteng regionals are known.

The support from the industry has been overwhelming with an almost oversubscribed first event. The second event promises to be even better. In what can only be described as “a rider for the riders”, Mahoney is investing all his knowledge and experience into giving competitors the best the sport has to offer – all within two hours from Gauteng.

Riders that have entered are urged to consult the new schedule since the venue change forced the route to become a single loop, where the quad bikes will start first followed by the bikes later on Saturday.