Selborne College’s Breece Romans has returned from the FIM Africa Motorcross of African Nations continental championship in Uganda from August 16-19, claiming first position in all three races in the MX125CC class.
Romans is one of three South Africans who went to Uganda to compete in the 125CC class but he is the only one who managed to complete the races, given that his teammates were forced to retire due to injuries and mechanical failures.
Romans, 17, has been racing competitively for half a decade now and received his first SA junior blazer for motorcross in 2018. This year alone, he has remained consistently in the top five rankings nationally and on August 6 he claimed first place in the MX125CC division for the North versus South championship.
Romans managed to qualify with the fastest lap at first position for his first and third races and this enabled him to maintain leading position throughout those rounds. The second round proved more challenging as his qualifying time placed him at second out the gates, but a mistake by the driver ahead of him enabled him to breeze to the front at the fourth lap.
He says his toughest competitor at the championships was the Ugandan rider who in the first race was only 0.5 seconds behind him during the qualifying round.
The heat proved unbearable and breathing was difficult given the altitude, but this did not affect his performance given Romans’ consistent winning streak. “In Uganda it was great because it’s not a national race where people know you and have expectations of what you can do,” he said. “When nobody really knows you, you don’t have an expectation to live up to so you just go there and prove yourself.”
As the year progresses, Romans will be competing in more national and Border tournaments, with the last one wrapping up in Johannesburg in November.
Romans says his priority is to remain in the Top 5 rankings and his dad Brett believes he is more than capable thereof. “He’s got the potential, when he gets a good start, he’s gone,” says Brett.
