The Bell 400 Offroad National took place this past weekend at Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal, where competitors had to complete the 400km course in wet and muddy conditons. Only a fraction of the riders saw the chequered flag at the end of the day, since extreme conditions took their toll on man and machine.

A ‘dust free’ 40km time trial saw Brother Broadlink KTM’s Gray Dick in a comfortable third place, an ideal starting position for the next day, only 22 seconds behind the leader. A bad crash on the third loop saw Gray Dick retiring from the race, the experienced rider hit a rock with his knee and bent his foot while racing at top speed. Gone were all the championship hopes for Dick.

His Brother Broadlink KTM team mates Riaan van Niekerk and Altus de Wet however did their sponsors proud and put on excellent performance on the track despite the difficult conditions. Van Niekerk won the highly contended OR2 (250cc) class on his KTM 350 XC-F and is now leading the OR2 championship. The multiple SA Offroad and Enduro champion finished the race in third place overall, followed by De Wet in fourth place who won the OR3 (200cc) class onboard his KTM 250 EXC-F. Scott Scheepers also delivered a great top ten result with a 9th place overall.

The Brother Broadlink KTM team is now looking forward to some technical riding at the upcoming Winterberg Liquorland National Enduro to be held in the Port Elizabeth area on 13 August.