Collin Matiza — Action from Sunday's opening round of the 2024 Better Brands Petroleum Bogwheelers Club National Motocross Championship series was marred by an ugly incident on the track that ended with two prominent local riders exchanging blows off the track at Donnybrook Park Raceway in Harare.
In what an eye witness described in his account as a bad and damaging advert to local motocross, senior champion rider Ashley Thixton is alleged to have attacked fellow top biker
after the two had exchanged some harsh words during racing in the main MX1 Class.
The two riders could be in soup if the Bogwheelers Club, who run motocross in this country on behalf of Motorsport Zimbabwe, decide to take some disciplinary action against them.
"What I think happened is that the two exchanged some harsh words during racing and this did not go down well with Ashley Thixton who came charging at Emmanuel Bako after one of the last races.
"This forced Emmanuel's father, Brighton, to intervene and that's when all hell broke loose as the ugly scene nearly degenerated into a free-for-all all as Ashley's father, Trevor, also came in to rescue his son.
"The whole scene was just a bad advert for the sport of motocross and it damages its good reputation.
"The other thing is that the whole fracas happened in front of a number of our junior riders and what message were they sending to them by fighting in front of these innocent kids?
"These kids might think that one had to fight physically if he or she loses a race.
"I think that both parties were guilty of overreacting and failing to cool down their tempers.
"They could have just resolved their problems away from the public eyes at the track.
"After this incident, racing was never the same again as it spoiled a good and jovial atmosphere at Donnybrook on Sunday," said the eye witness, who asked not to be named.
When contacted yesterday by Zimpapers Sports, Emmanuel Bako's father, Brighton, confirmed that there were some skirmishes at Donnybrook on Sunday involving himself, his son, and the Thixtons.
"Ashley was riding dirty on Emmanuel on the track and this went on for quite some time before Manu hit back by throwing some harsh words at him.
"And I was quite surprised when soon after one of the races, Ashley came charging at Emmanuel at the pits, throwing some punches at him.
"He even lifted the poor boy and threw him against the fence which could have resulted in Emmanuel sustaining some serious injuries.
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"That's when I intervened to save my son's life . . . the whole scene was really ugly and shameful . . . How can a 33-year-old man (Ashley) beat up a 17-year-old boy (Emmanuel)?"
"This is not proper and something must be quickly done for this not to happen again or the sport will die a natural death before our own eyes," Brighton Bako said.
No comment could be obtained from Ashley Thixton who, a few weeks ago, became a national motorsport legend after he became the second Zimbabwean motorbike rider to last the distance at the tough 2024 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
