Swanepoel mixes it up at Budds Creek
Having raced at Budds Creek for Team South Africa at the 2007 MX of Nations, Gareth Swanepoel (Shredstix
Yamaha), went to Maryland this weekend with some previous experience at the well manicured and
picturesque circuit.
A dismal qualification after trying some new settings on the bike left Swanepoel with 18th gate
pick for moto 1. He made the most of his start position as the gate dropped and he rode a solid moto
coming from 15th spot to ninth.
Taking advantage of a better starting position in Moto 2 saw Swanepoel quickly move into third
spot chasing fellow South African Tyla Rattray and Justin Barcia. He came under pressure from Dean
Wilson and lost his podium spot to the youngster. Setting some consistent lap times Swanepoel
started to shut down a tiring Wilson with Eli Tomac charging to join a three-way fight to the
chequered flag. Swanepoel recorder his second fourth place of the season and occupies eighth in the
standings.
"I really like riding at Budds Creek but to be honest I didn't feel as good as I should
have," said Swanepoel. "The result on paper is satisfactory but it was one of those
weekends were I didn't feel comfortable. My start in the second moto certainly helped and once I got
behind Wilson I could pretty much post fast consistent lap times every lap. I then started to catch
Dean and saw Eli Tomac was closing me down. Some backmarkers brought us really close but I had
enough left in the tank to finish the moto off strong. The last lap all three of us we were very
close which must have been pretty exciting for the crowd to watch."
The AMA Pro National series will hit the halfway point next weekend at the Thunder Valley
National in Lakewood Colorado.
Results
Budds Creek MX Park - Mechanicsville, Maryland
Round 5 of 12
250 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki (2-1)
2. Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki (1-3)
3. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda (6-2)
4. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda (5-5)
5. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki (3-9)
6. Gareth Swanepoel, South Africa, Yamaha (9-4)
7. Blake Baggett, Redlands, Calif., Kawasaki (7-7)
8. Kyle Cunningham, Irving, Texas, Yamaha (4-15)
9. Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Suzuki (10-10)
10. Nico Izzi, Rochester, N.Y., Honda (8-13)
250 Class Championship Standings
1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki - 174
2. Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki - 170
3. Blake Baggett, Redlands, Calif., Kawasaki - 144
4. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda - 136
5. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda - 116
6. Kyle Cunningham, Irving, Texas, Yamaha - 114
7. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki - 99
8. Gareth Swanepoel, South Africa, Yamaha - 91
9. Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Suzuki - 75
10. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda - 72