The Federation of Motocross Championship in Uganda (FMU) ended its 2021 championship calendar on Sunday, 31 October 2021 at the Victoria Raceway Park at Garuga in Entebbe; and it was all the pomp and fuss the motocross fans hoped for and more. This calendar coming to a close means some of the riders will be moving to a different class come 2022 as they age out of the class. Some of the riders secured their championship and others put up a fight and good competition. The event started off with the MX 50cc juniors (peewee) and seniors and they put on an exciting start to the day’s competition. It was a fight to the finish between Jamairah Makumbi and Filbert Muwonge but Muwonge came out victorious; winning two of the heats and finishing first overall with 57points and the champion 2021 in the MX 50cc seniors’ category. At 7years old, Susan Muwonge’s son did not disappoint at all. Jamairah Makumbi came in overall second and Ethan James Blick was third. In the peewee’s, Faith Deedan won all heats and finished with 60points but even coming in second place, Abigail Katende sealed the championship in this category with enough points to be the 50cc juniors champion for this year.
In the most anticipated category of the day, the MX 65cc, the riders put on a great show and were really entertaining and competitive. This class also had the most competitors in the day. Jonathan Katende won two of the heats and second in another, came out first with 57points narrowly edging out his big brother Miguel Katende who came in second with 54points. However, Miguel had secured enough points throughout the season to emerge the champion in this class for this year. He has really been one of the most entertaining riders this year; healing from a back injury in a short time and this year being his first year in the 65cc class, leading it throughout! That’s really impressive to say the least. In third place was Ally Kimera and all three of these young men come from Semka Racing academy where George Ssemakula (rally driver) is the coach. His children Jonathan, Miguel, and Abigail Katende all came out on top in the event. Among the many competitors in this class were Zion Wekesa, Liam and Lionel Ntale, Ashram Makumbi, Jayden George Blick, Talha Kateete, Haiden Kalisa, and Manzi Winfield.
The MX 85cc lites class saw a fight between Tony Benders and Jerome Mubiru but coming in the overall first place was Mubiru, who also claimed the championship in this class for this year. In close second was Benders and Ahmed Issa Ntege came in third. Shamira Kateete came in fifth place but was the winner in the ladies category being she is the only female in the class. In the MX 125cc, it was all about Kylan Wekesa, winning all heats and coming out the champion in his class. In second place was Apollo Akena Milton Obote and in third place was Shadia Kateete, the only female in the class holding her own with the guys.
The MX 1 class champion was Alestair Blick Jr, this class did not compete in this event. He secured enough points to win in the previous round. In the MX 2 class, Paddy Roldin Blick shined through and emerged the winner in all heats and the champion in this class. Ssemambo Mustafa came in second place and Sam Foreman in third. Sharifah Kateete, the only female in this class won the ladies category and this young lady and her sisters have been really groundbreaking and inspirational to watch compete among the guys in their respective categories. Arthur Blick Jr took home the trophy for the MX Vets class, winning all heats in this round. Arthur is one of the most decorated motocross riders with more trophies than any other rider as well as rally car driver wins for back in the day. In second place was Andrea Marinelli and Abdul Damba in third for the day.
Closing out the day were the MX Masters, with Cymon Charnley coming out as the lead in the class. Honourable James “Jimmy” Michael Akena competed in one heat in this category but closed the event with the riders from Uganda Bikers Association (which he heads) and they showed a different class of bikes on the track. Some of the sponsors for the event were Lato Milk, MX School, Uganda Lodges, Dipu Ruparelia, Semka Racing academy, SMK tires among others.
