Honda Off-Road racers claimed two class victories and four podiums at Ermelo Toyota 400

Ermelo Toyota 400, 31 October – 1 November 2008
Final Round of the SA National Off-road Motorcycle and Quad Championships

Off-road race information :
Route : 420 kilometres (60km time-trail; 2x 120km loop + 2x 30km loop + 1x 60km loop)
Terrain : Rocky, hard with some fast sections
Weather : Rainy at first, humid and windy.

hot Quad Category
In the national quad category, Honda Race Nation Quad Revolution scored a class victory and three podium positions.

It was the first Open Class victory for the new Honda TRX 700XX in the national off-road quad championship with Paulo Costa taking the laurels. Costa started the main race in 18th place overall after a 60 kilometre time-trail and finished 5th overall with the Honda with Elka independent rear-suspension that brought him home after a trouble-free 360 kilometres on Saturday.

There were more podium positions when the young Juan Coetzee finished third overall with the Honda TRX450 after starting the race in 8th place. Coetzee lost time with two flat tyres. He claimed the 3rd place in the competitive Pro 450 Class and unofficial scoring saw him finishing the 2008 season in third place overall and fourth in the Pro 450 Class championship.

The national quad category was won by Brian Baragwanath with Vincent Loubser second.

Rider Nr L13 Juan Coetzee – Honda Race Nation Quad Revolution Elka
It was the second national off-road racing season for Juan Coetzee, the scholar from Kinross and son of one of South Africa’s quad racing pioneers, Billy Coetzee, who proved the importance of consistency. He finished six of the eight national events this year and brought his trusty Race Nation Quad Revolution Honda TRX450 home time after time to bag valuable points towards the Pro 450 Class championship and the overall standings. His results during 2008 include a fourth place at the Quad Roof of Africa and the Caledon 400.

Quotes
Quad competitor Nr L58 – Paulo Costa : “If you’ve finished the 2008 Ermelo Toyota 400, you and your machine are strong. It was a tough event, but my Honda TRX 700XX did not give any problems. The quad was perfectly tuned and with the long-range fuel tank, we could skip fuel point. And the amount of rocks and rough terrain suited the  Elka independent rear suspension perfectly.”