The 2023 MX 65 champion, Jonathan Katende has no plans on slowing down this year; he is planning on competing in the Kenya National Motocross Championship as well, and as their calendar kicked off with the first event that run on 11 February in Nairobi, he came out on top of everyone. He won the season opener in the MX 65 class with 57 points, he won two heats, the first and last one, and came in second in the second heat even after he suffered a fall. He did three laps of official training the day of the event and then took part in the event as he was coming from school and a day of travel.
The race that took place at Jamuhuri race track had Jonathan come in first place, Kenya’s Jayden Weru in second (who is new in the 65 class), and Lemiyan Mugo in third completing the podium for round one. Kigen Mutuma, who had dominated the class the whole of 2023 unfortunately did not make the top three as well as Dylan Hatanga, Mathenge Kamundia, and Thuku Waweru; the podium had two new riders plus Jonathan. Katende is currently leading the national championship at home as well with 60 points and the youngster who recently turned eleven years old is using these races as a way to train and prepare for the Junior World Motocross Championship scheduled for July in the Netherlands and the FIM Motocross of African Nations (MXOAN) in Morocco scheduled for October. Katende also plans to take part in one race in South Africa in May to gauge his performance with international riders. Katende’s objective is that he will be able to compete in all the events if finances, time, and health permit him to.
In 2023, Jonathan won the MX 65 CAC in December and the national championship as well, and as he keeps gaining experience, he is on track to have a good year as he increases his motocross resume.
Katende is sponsored by Lato Milk, Worldwide Movers Africa, Encounter Africa Safaris, the Deedan family, Semka Riding Academy, and Team 380. It also helps that his school, St Francis Junior School Buddo is supportive of his motocross career as the school also prioritizes sports and gives him extra time to catch up on missed classes.
The next round on the Kenyan championship is scheduled for March 10.
