After overnight rainfall in the capital Nairobi, the muddy jamuhuri parkprovided the perfect conditions for the FIM AFRICA Central Africa motocrosschallenge pitting together some of the most experienced, speed loving anddaring riders across the region from Uganda, Tanzania and the hosts Kenya.

Motocross enthusiasts braved the chilly cold Nairobi weather and flocked atthe Jamuhuri race track in huge numbers to witness the grueling battle betweenthe hosts Kenya and their arch rivals Uganda who were the defending championsfor the coveted title.

Uganda’s sensational rider Maxime Van Pee was going to battle it out withKenya’s prolific speed merchant Tutu Maina in the main MX1 class which wasexpected to be the mother of all motocross battles ever witnessed in thecountry for a very long time.

As the time for the main action in MX1 neared, Maxime who is the top rankedrider in the pearl of Africa was upbeat about the competition from Tutu Mainapromising to put up a strong challenge to win the class.

In preparation for the challenge, Maxime had been practicing in Germany forthe past one year where he is also pursuing his university education and wasready to propel Uganda to the top of the championship for the second time in arow.

“I have been practicing in Germany for the past one year, but it has notbeen consistent enough. I have practiced a bit more in the past two weeks and Ihope we will make it because we have a strong team in MX1 as compared to thelast time we came to Nairobi,” he said in an interview with motosports magazineEMMonline.com

A handful of fans from Uganda waving their national flags and wildlycheering their team were a huge motivational factor to the visitors who wereeager to repay their fans faith in them with scintillating performances.

“When the fans come they expect the first position for me and even a secondposition will be a disappointment to me and the fans,” he added.

Also gunning for the top position was Kenya’s Tutu Maina who was critical ofthe muddy track admitting that it was a challenge to his fellow Kenyan riders.

“Mud has always been an issue especially to Kenyan riders, we don’t reallyknow how to handle the mud but I am happy that the team has practiced on that,”he said.

After a hotly contested heat 1, Tutu had proved to everyone that he wasgoing for the top spot after putting up a spectacular show that left Uganda’sMaxime chasing shadows to the excitement of the Kenyan fans.

After a grueling long battle for supremacy between Kenya and Uganda, thehosts had the last laugh after a spirited challenge to overthrow their mainchallengers Uganda from the top position.

Tutu Maina was the winner in the main MX1 class picking up a total of 60points with his main challenger Maxime Van Pee coming second with 51 pointsmuch to the delight of the Kenyan fans.

In the MX2 class, Ivan Guya was crowned the new champion after fighting offstiff competition from the talented Apollo Mbuki also from Kenya who had tosettle for 2nd place after a season marred by injuries, SamirSherman was third.

Selected results.

MX50.

• 1. DylanMutahi            (KEN) 54
• 2. TaiWahome             (KEN) 52
• 3.  WalleedOmar           (UG)   50

MX65.

• 1. Ethan Nyachae          (KEN) 57
• 2. Fortune Ssentamu      (KEN) 54
• 3. Wazir  Omar             (UG) 43

MX85.

• 1. EliasSherman            (KEN)57
• 2. Githuku Mungai         (KEN) 52
• 3. Ngugi Waweru          (KEN) 42

MX125.

• 1. Rohan Gandhi          (KEN)60
• 2. Masalule Kituyi         (KEN) 51
• 3. SamirAnwar            (KEN)45

MX2.

• 1. IvanGuya                 (KEN) 57
• 2. ApolloMbuki            (KEN)54
• 3. Samir Sherman          (KEN)49

MX1.

• 1. TutuMaina               (KEN) 57
• 2.  Maxime Van Pee      (UG)   51
• 3.  ArthurBlick             (UG) 45

Kenya garnered a total of 3,663 points to recapture the FIM AFRICA CentralAfrica MX challenge from Uganda who managed 2,299 points with Tanzania comingthird with 450 points.

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