Exciting year ahead for motorsport

Namibian motorsport has a few surprises for this year when it comes to the various codes.

A Motocross (MX) event was slated for 24 February, but had to be postponed due to former president Hage Geingob’s funeral, and was scheduled to take place in mid-March.

Another date is still to determined to fit in the leg needed for the national championship that requires six events across the board as per the Namibia Motorsport Federation (NMSF).

Derek Jacobs from the NMSF says the NMSF is mandated by the Namibia Sports Commission and the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service to regulate the sport in Namibia.
“We are looking after the rules and regulations, as well as the competition licences,” he says.

NMSF is also affiliated to the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the International Motorsport Feredation (FIM) which regulates all motor vehicles and motorcycles, Jacobs says.

One cannot just rock up with your race car and start to participate, but have to belong to a motorclub, Jacobs says.

Once a club has been approved it can apply for a racing licence through the NMSF.

Hence some racers take part with a ‘day licence’, he says.

Jacobs says the rest of the year will be action-packed, since every code needs to compete over six legs to qualify for the national championships.

To diversify the sport in various regions, competitions will be held at all the major towns where the codes are dominant, such as at Gobabis, Swakopmund and Omaruru.

These venues are also under pressure due to the current drought crisis, and some MX events may be rescheduled to be hosted in Windhoek.

An event at Gobabis was scheduled for later this month, but it was decided to move this to the Gallina MX tracks outside Windhoek.

It is not always the weather that influences the sport dates, but also social events like this weekend’s circuit racing, which was rescheduled to a later date due to the annual Wika event this weekend.

“When you run the rules for motorsport, you have no friends or family, as it is a serious business and could affect the outcome of an event or championships. The rule book is quite thick, which requires you to do your job properly.” Jacobs says.

But it is not always bells and whistles after competitions, as it often happens that racers raise concerns about some alleged irregularities and dispute results.

The phrase “do not get bigger than the sport” is often picked up next to the tracks, he says.