After GP winner Tyla Rattray’s knee injury, the South African squad underwent some
changes, and the final line-up will be made by Grant Langston (19), Gareth Swanepoel
(20) and Wyatt Avis (21). South Africa has entered the top five several times, but was
never on the podium.
25 year old Grant Langston comes from Durban, and has won in Motocross, SuperMoto
and Supercross during his professional career, which started in 1998. In 2000 Langston
won the 125cc Motocross World Title, and clinched victory also in the 125cc class at the
Motocross of Nations. Three years later he won both the SuperMoto Unlimited
Championship and the AMA Motocross Championship in the 125cc class. This year he
has just won the AMA Motocross Nationals.
Gareth Swanepoel, who debuted in the Nations in 2001, will be back in the saddle after
his best season in the FIM Motocross World Championship, where he conquered a hard
fought fifth place in the MX2 class at the very last round (Lierop). Swanepoel, who
clinched his maiden GP podium at this season opener (Valkenswaard), looks forward to
repeat the team’s best result of the millennium, which was the fifth place of 2004
(Lierop). That year team South Africa finished tied in points (41) with fourth placed
Estonia and third placed France.
Wyatt Avis, who moved from home Durban to Europe in 2000 after having won many
National Junior Championships, was also part of the successful 2004 Team South Africa.
Avis wants to make up for a troubled MX2 World Championship season, where had to
recover from knee surgery and eventually injured his hand, with a good result at the
Nations. The 23 year old missed the event in 2005 because of a knee injury, and this
will be his second MXoN in a row.
Three time Motocross World Champion Greg Albertyn will lead the South African squad
as Team Manager. Like most of his countrymen, also Albertyn moved to Europe in his
teens, and eventually ended his career in the US, clinching one AMA 250cc Motocross
Title in 1999 despite the many injuries he suffered in the States. Last year’s result and
team (MX1/MX2/Open): 7th; Neville Bradshaw, Tyla Rattray, Wyatt Avis.
Grant Langston at Glen Helen two weeks ago
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