Custom Axis Shocks Winners at Mafikeng 400 Off-Road Race

May 10, 2010 – Custom Axis Racing Shocks were part of the suspension set-up for the race quads of the overall race winner and several class winners of the Mafikeng 400, the third round of the SA National Off-road Quad Championship that took place in the North-West Province this weekend.

Dirkie Baard has won the race and the Pro 450 Class on his Windhoek Honda TRX450R fitted with Custom Axis Shocks while Jacques Struwig, whose Boesman Racing Hybrid is also fitted with Custom Axis, finished third overall and won the Open Class.

Custom Axis Shocks were fitted on three of the top five quads with Baard’s team-mate, the motocross racer, Eric Williams, finishing fifth overall. This was his best result since he started competing in off-road racing a year ago. Custom Axis also walked away with the laurels in the Silver Challenge (non-championship) Class where Thinus Bredenkamp won with his CDV Racing Can-Am DS450.

The route of the Mafikeng 400 – a traditionally fast off-road race consisting of about 450km – was made up of a combination of high-speed sections while the long 200km loop was riddled with large whoops that took its toll on the competitors and their quads. These challenges required a very specific suspension set-up that both suited the Custom Axis Shocks as well as the abilities of Baard and Struwig – the 2009 Quad MX national and regional class champions – proved to be a winning combination.

“After the 40km time-trial on Friday, we made a few shock adjustments that better suited the amount of grip the conditions provided,” a delighted Baard, who has won the Mafikeng 400 for the first time since racing in South Africa, said afterwards.

“Brian Baragwanath (who finished second) and I swopped places quite a few times and it was especially over the whooped-out section that I really appreciated the Custom Axis Racing Shocks on my Honda,” he commented. “Those sections were hard on the suspension and our set-up was spot-on,” he said.

Suspension expert and owner of ShockLogic and sole-importer of Custom Axis Racing Shock in South Africa, Justin Waddington, is thrilled with the results and believes that his hands-on support at the races plays a big role in getting the results.

“Having Custom Axis Racing Shocks on the quads of some of South Africa’s top racers is a big responsibility, but Custom Axis is a world leader in suspension technology and these riders place huge trust in the product and what we are able to do with it,” the former member of the Nissan Motorsport Dakar team said.

“We are now looking forward to the next round of the national off-road championship that will take place in Lesotho. Jacques has won the Quad Roof of Africa twice before while Dirkie was the 2009 winner and hopefully Custom Axis can help these riders in winning this well-known event as well,” he said.

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