Siegl wins Tafel Lager/Pepsi 'Cash'.

It is hard to describe all of the dramatic and action that could be witnessed at last Saturday's meeting at the Gallina Moto Cross Park but, as far as the day's racing goes, it could only be described in one word - intense!

Once again, as at the previous week's event in Namibia, thousands of spectators flocked to the racetrack outside of capital Windhoek to watch motocross of the highest standard never seen on African soil before.

After the first leg of the Inter-Series - the Shell/Cymot Meeting - it was German Daniel Siegl who came to Gallina for the second leg with a marginal lead of five points over his Open Class rivals. At the Tafel Lager/Pepsi Dash for Cash event, he proved once again that he desperately wants to become the Namibian Open champion.

Siegl won the first heat ahead of countryman Dennis Schr?ter, Dane Jacob Almar and Dutchman Erwin Robins, but it was the second that was perhaps the most exciting of the day.

Robins was in the lead almost throughout, but a locked rear wheel took him off before he could convert the advantage into a win. Almar took over the lead for the next couple of laps, while Aigar Leok ploughed his way through the field of riders. A few laps later, Almar crashed and Leok, Siegl and Schr?ter all managed to pass the Dane, with Estonian Leok winning in style.

In the last heat - the EL Sea Products 'King of the Dirt' race - the situation was unchanged, with tense racing over the 20 minutes plus one lap distance. Siegl got to the front but was chased mercilessly by countryman Schr?ter, who closed in with Robins is in hot pursuit. The status quo remained thus until the last lap, when Robins closed the gap before the 'whoops' and then he started an attack never before seen in Gallina. The Dutchman shot past Schr?ter, taking three whoops at a time, to finish second behind winner Siegl.

Namibian stars Reiner Becker and Ingo Waldschmidt always mingled with the best and both riders made the top ten, but the overall winner of the series to be crowned Open champion was Siegl, who amassed 139 points compared to runner-up Schr?ter's 119 and Almar's 116.

Away from the main event, the 125cc class again provided its own highlights, with the 'boy from Botswana', Ross Branch, who took the honours and won both heats in style. His demonstration of skill was honoured by Germany's KTM team manager Bodo Schmidt, who invited Branch to race in Germany in 2003. Behind the runaway leader, the spectators were again able to witness the ongoing tussle between Swiss rider Daniel Huser, Namibian Arno Engels and German Steffen Albrecht.

The Masters class was won by German Klaus Meyer, who claimed that he had participated 'just for fun'. Beau White, from South Africa, was his strongest contender but, behind these two, it was again a titanic battle between Zimbabwean Dale Holliday and Namibian Eckhard Waldschmidt, who entertained the spectators with their eternal fight.

As usual the Namibia Construction 65cc and 85cc classes were started together. In the former, Namibian Bj?rn Bierbrauer won once more, ahead of old rival Kai Pritzen, and duly secured the Namibian Championship. Dominique Thury from Germany finished in third.

The 85cc class heats were no less exciting, as 'Animal' Brannigan Wise had to swallow defeat in his first outing but than never looked back, winning the class in style. Behind Wise, there was a tough battle going on between the Germans Hannes Ackermann and Maria Franke, while Philipp Hahn suffered with a mechanical failure in heat three.

In the Echotech 50cc Juniors class, spectators witnessed another gigantic battle between arch rivals Eric Garbers and Tristan M?ller, with the latter winning this time around. Pauli Loots finished in third overall, while Erhard Pajewski won the City Sand 80cc Juniors Class, ahead of Jaco Loots and younger brother Daniel Pajewski.

In the Zenner Quad Class there were 14 entries, with ex-MX rider Duan Spangenberg winning, courtesy of a clean-sweep, ahead of Angolan Cavin Collinyton and Namibian Emil D?rgeloh from Omaruru.

The raceday was rounded off by good racing in the Lerch & Co Clubman class. Namibia's Siegfried Pack won the trophy ahead of Angolan Jose Teixeira and Namibian J?rgen Brendel.

As in the previous week, hundreds of additional spectators flocked to Gallina for the evening show, which included the PLAY Freestyle Show as well as more entertaining programmes culminating in a 'boyz-only' wet-t-shirt competition!

The Inter-Series 2002 is now over, with all involved offering hearty thanks to all sponsors, in particular main backer Tafel Lager & Pepsi, as well as messrs Woker Freight Service, who undertook to organise the bike-transport and customs clearance for the European riders free of charge.

Results - Inter Nations Namibia (3 November)

Gr?ber Sattlerei Open Class

1. Daniel Siegl GER Zenner Meters Yamaha 72 points
2. Dennis Schr?ter GER Zenner Meters KTM 62
3. Jacob Almar DK Bar One Yamaha 58
4. Warren Thorne ZIM Stannic KTM 52
5. Reiner Becker NAM Last minute Honda 48
6. Markus Alden SWE EL Sea Products KTM 44
7. Aigar Leok EST MILO KTM 43
8. Erwin Robins NL FNB Yamaha 41
9. Ingo Waldschmidt NAM Hartkor Fakker Yamaha 41
10. Thomas Rang GER Zenner Meters Honda 38

Pentagon 125cc Class

1. Ross Branch BOT OBECO KTM 68 points
2. Daniel Huser SUI Radiowave 96.7 Yamaha 52
3. Arno Engels NAM Last minute Yamaha 48
4. Christian Lechner GER NPI Husaberg 47
5. Uwe Sternagel NAM Quality Tyres Honda 43

Windhoek Hire Sales & Services Masters Class

1. Klaus Meyer GER PLAY FMX Honda 50 points
2. Beau White RSA JB Cooling Yamaha 49
3. Dale Holliday ZIM Stannic Yamaha 43
4. Eckhard Waldschmidt NAM Shell Honda 39
5. Andreas Brendel NAM Hartkor Fakker Honda 37

Namibia Construction 65cc Class

1. Bj?rn Bierbrauer NAM EL Sea Products KTM 72
2. Kai Pritzen NAM Hartkor Fakker Kawasaki 69
3. Dominique Thury GER NPI Kawasaki 60
4. Heiko Itzko NAM Kawasaki 57
5. Ian Dykes BOT OBECO KTM 53

Namibia Construction 85cc Class

1. Brannigan Wise NAM Motorcycle Centre Kawasaki 72 points
2. Hannes Ackermann GER PLAY FMX Kawasaki 61
3. Maria Franke GER NPI Kawasaki 59
4. Alexander Howard NAM Seasonaire Yamaha 55
5. Tyrone Watkins ZAM LIC Yamaha 52