Supersonic Aprilia RXV Takes Win in Extreme Enduro Race
By Steven Matthews
EWXC stands for Enduro World Cross Country, an extreme MX/Enduro event, held at Zone 7, just outside Cape Town. The nature of the event, with its thrills and spills, and the fact that it is held so close to town, makes it very spectator friendly. It essentially encompasses part of the MX track, sixteen man-made obstacles, and the enduro loop, totalling 6,5km per lap. Spectators get to be right next to all the obstacles so they get a front row view of the spectacular skill needed to conquer the obstacles, as well as witness the inevitable wipeouts up close.Saturday the 20th of February was the first round of the Western Cape 2010 series, and it turned out to be the hottest day in Cape Town's history. Um...well, maybe not quite, but hovering around the 40 degree Celcius mark it was not too far off, and it certainly felt like it!
The event is split into three race groups, Pro Open and Pro Seniors who ride in the same race, Novice A and B, and Social. Social had too few entries to ride their own race, as planned, so they were put in the Novice race. Each group has to ride two grueling heats of one hour. This adds to the psychological difficulty because after giving it your all in the first heat, you have to pick yourself up and race again a few hours later.The start is 'Le Mans' style, i.e. mass start, bike engines off. Riders have to run to their bikes, jump on, start engines and give it horns. In Race One I got to the first corner fourth. Shortly thereafter there was a steep drop-off in thick sand. One competitor wiped out at the bottom so I was in third by the time we reached the obstacles.
The obstacles come in the order of, first; three progressively larger logs on their side about two metres after each other, then a log up/down-hill, followed by a log up-hill with boulders and rocks on the descent. Next a run over a pile of loose wooden logs, then a rickety log bridge, and another massive log. Next up, the nasty car tyre pit, then another rock pile, another over-sized log, a flat rocky stretch, concrete steps (up and down), several more logs lying side by side, tractor and truck tyres on their side, Stalin's Organ (a whole bundle of stumps of varying diameter and length, placed upright), followed by a near vertical hill, and lastly two large logs in a pile of rocks. Between obstacles is pretty much nothing other than deep soft whooped out sand which is really energy sapping.I wiped out at least four times in heat one, and on my first attempt of the tractor tyres I got the front wheel stuck in the ropes tying the tyres together. I had to dismount and man-handle my bike free, before taking another run-up and clearing them. Not long after, I grabbed a handfull of front brakes, only to have none... The lever came to the bar with absolutely no pressure and my heart sank. Was that my race over or would
I just keep going with back brakes only? I looked down, figuring I had ripped my brake-line off, but saw nothing odd-looking, so gave the lever a few pumps while still riding, and to my relief they came right! The rope must have moved the caliper, causing the pads to move away from the disk, but, luckily, no damage.Lap after lap I kept plodding away in the hectic heat and over the hardcore obstacles, until finally the hour was up, four laps later, and I got the checkered flag as I crossed the line. I knew I must have done well but in the carnage wasn't sure just how well. I was elated to see the results posted, having gained a class win and second overall in the battle of attrition which claimed many victims.
Heat two was upon us all too soon. Again we lined up in the heat. This time they allowed us to start sitting on our bikes, with engines off. Due to the extreme temperature and the attrition rate of the first heat, this one was reduced to forty-five minutes, much to the relief of all the riders. The field had basically halved for the start of this heat, demonstrating just how hectic this kind of racing actually is. The flag dropped and away we were. Although I wasn't the quickest off the line, I was super impressed with my Aprilia RXV450 once again as I opened the throttle and flew past the three or so dudes in front of me, thus getting to the first corner in second place.I could hear a bike on my tail the whole way around the first lap and got to the start/finish line with him about half a wheel behind me. The close dice had been adrenalin-pumping, resulting in an exhilaratingly fast pace, but sucking huge amounts of energy from both of us. Too much for him as his race ended right there, 'kusboude', finished and 'niks meer om te gee nie'.
I managed two more laps before taking the checkered flag on the forty-five minute mark, once again putting the RXV in second overall and getting yet another class victory. I think I managed heat two with only one wipeout. The Aprilia didn't skip a beat in either race, making me very proud. It stood out big-time, a good advert for the Italian Stallion, impressing riders and spectators alike. The sexy looks and unmistakeable sound of the V-twin just cannot go un-noticed. RXV, RXV, RXV.
