14 October 2008
Windhoek — A promising young rider is to represent Botswana at this year's Inter-Series, at the Gallina Race Track, north of Windhoek on the 15th of next month.
The 22-year old Ross Branch is no newcomer to local Moto-Cross racing, as the youngster will be returning to familiar territory where he won the 85cc Class in 2001.
He skillfully demonstrated his guts by winning the 2002 Inter-Series 125cc Class the following year and went on to become "AMU Africa 125cc Champion" in 2003 - a feat he repeated in 2005 at his favourite hunting ground the Gallina Motocross Park
Branch started racing in 1994 and three years later he participated in the Gauteng-Championship where he finished as runner-up.
The year 2001 was also a good one in the AMU Championship in Pietermaritzburg when he finished in 3rd position, and came third in the South African Championships before clinching the Botswana Championship with 21 wins in 21 races.
He retained his title in 2002, and finished 3rd in the AMU-Africa Championships in Kenya. In 2003, his exploits on the track did not go unnoticed and the young rider was snapped up by the German Bodo Schmidt Team in the pits at Gallina and raced the 2004 season in Germany with mixed results, winning the Deutsche Moto-Cross Pokal (Group South).
The year after he raced for the Pfeil Kawasaki Team in Germany, again with mixed results, many crashes and some misfortunes. In 2006, he moved to the German EBS-Sturm Team, before he returned back to Botswana for good.
In the Namibian Inter-Series, he finished as runner-up, behind German Benny Kolberg.
Since 2007, he has been an integral part of the Wreckers Campbell Kawasaki Team and 2007 was a very good year for him when he won (out of contention though) the Namibian Moto-Cross Championships in the 125cc Class. He finished 3rd overall in the South African Championships 125cc Class and became AMU 125cc Champion in Nairobi / Kenya.
At the Namibian Inter-Series, he once again finished as runner-up, while 2008 has shown some mixed fortunes in the SA Championships. With still two rounds to go, it remains to be seen what fortune has in store for him.
The 2nd rider in the NamIce Team Botswana is Carr Lebatha. Unfortunately by the time of going to press, there was still no rider profile of "Black Pearl" Carr available besides that he is a very talented rider.
He had some successful races in Botswana with a good number of Top 3 results, and he managed some Top 10 results in South Africa and tried his luck in a Namibian National in 2007, in Gobabis, where he finished in an excellent 5t overall position. In the Moscow International in Russia, in 2007, Carr finished in a good 15th spot before crashing out at his first attempt at the 2007 Inter-Series.
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