WITH only three years of motocross racing under his belt, Kabelo Ledwaba Jnr has grown in leaps and bounds.
Kabelo Jnr (11) from Centurion in Tshwane has become the one to beat in junior motocross sport.
He’s preparing to fly Mzansi’s flag high in Austria next month.
His father, Kabelo Ledwaba Snr, introduced him to motocross racing when he was eight years old.
He said his son spends most of his free time training. and even had a track built during lockdown to ensure he didn’t lose any progress.
He started with 50cc and now he’s riding 65cc and 85cc bikes.
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Kabelo Jnr told Daily Sun: he loves the sport because of the intensity of having 39 other fast riders all wanting to win around him.“Mostly, I love the feeling of taming such fast and exciting bikes and pushing them to the limits around the corners.”
The grade 5 pupil from Beaulieu Preparatory School in Kyalami said his schedule was tight as he juggled his time between books and training.
“I go to school in the morning and ride after school I have a tutor who also assists me online if I am out of town,” he said.
His father manages his schedule, working in the morning and evenings, and his mother is a lawyer.
“We travel together, train together and win together,” said Kabelo Snr.
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He said they have two main sponsors in Motul South Africa and Fast KTM, and the family also does group funding. “We can’t afford to keep him racing internationally. He is at a level where he can win the SA motocross championships in 2023, European motocross championships and the world championships. But this requires a lot of funding.”
Kabelo Jnr said he wants to win so he can inspire young black kids to join the sport.He has competed in South Africa and in the European MX Championships in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
but he will become the first South African to achieve all this in one year and the first world champion.”