The second round of the national motocross championship took place Sunday, 05 March, and for the first time it was hosted in Kalisizo-Masaka at the E-Villas race track. The track was as adventurous and risky as it was entertaining. Fans came out in good numbers to watch the riders and they did not disappoint. The jumps and corners had fans cheering and it pushed the riders to do their best since it was a new space.
One of the most entertaining and nail-biting races was the MX 2 and MX 1 classes that raced together; it saw the return of one of Uganda’s greatest riders, Maxime Van Pee in the MX 1 class and Fortune Ssentamu in the MX 2. All three heats had fans cheering and eagerly waiting to see who comes out before the other. Maxime won all three heats in his class and Robert Jjingo placed second; they were the only competitors in this class. Ssentamu won in his class and won the hearts of fans with his aggressive style of riding and competitive nature. Walid Omar came in second place with 47poimts and Rohan Khandi from Kenya came in third. Masalule Kituyi, also from Kenya, came in fourth, and Tony Benders placed fifth. Sharifah Kateete, unfortunately, suffered a terrible accident and injured her arm (on her return to riding) in the very first heat.
Another of the crowd favorites was the MX 125 and 65cc classes. Waleed Omar won the 125 class, finishing first in heat one, second in heats two and three collecting a total of 54 points; Milton Obote Akaki came in second finishing second in heat one, first in heat two, and third in heat three. New to the 125 class was Mubarak Ssenoga Mayanja who placed impressively third; graduating from the 85cc class. Jeremiah Mawanda came in fourth and Daryl Muhindo closed the top five.
Jonathan Katende shined bright winning the 65cc class with 55 points finishing first in heats one and two and third in the last heat. His brother Miguel Katende, unfortunately, has an injury that he got from practice and could not take part. Kenya’s Kigen Mutuma came in second place with 50 points finishing fourth in heat one, second in heat two, and first in heat three. Ashraf Mbabazi came in third, Larry Sekamwa in fourth, and Ramathan Mubiru closed out the top five.
In the Vets class, Christian Milletti won all three heats, won the class; Ashi Young came in second, Juncture George was third, and Andrea Marinelli fourth. James Akena won the master’s class and is the only competitor in that class.
In the 50cc junior, Hellena Birungi won all three heats collecting 60 points, Mark Kugonza came in second, Jonani Makumbi came in third, Mugerwa Phillip in fourth, Ariella Katende in fifth, and Alba Muwanguzi in fifth place. In the 50cc, Jude Kyle Musede dominated all three heats collecting all 60 points, Jamairah Makumbi placed second, and Abigail Katende came in third. Faith Deedan Angel came in fourth place and Eli Mitima in fifth.
In the 85cc, Gift Ssebuguzi was still holding onto the number one position since round one finishing first, as Jerome Mubiru came in second.
The third round of motocross will be held in April during the Easter holiday and will also be the first round of the highly anticipated Central Africa Championship (CAC).
