Tanya Muzinda shines in UK

By Collin Matiza

Tanya Muzinda, the poster-girl of Zimbabwean motocross, made her presence felt during the opening day of the British Girls National Championships at the famous Wroxton track in Oxford on Saturday where she finished in the top five in the 85cc Class (small wheel).

Muzinda (13), who was competing in the British National Championships for the first time, showed no ghost of inferiority complex against opposition British riders as she first finished in third place in heat one before taking fourth place in heat two.

She then went on to claim another third place finish in heat three to put herself in good stead for a podium finish going into yesterday’s Day Two of the championships which attracted more than 400 riders drawn from across the UK and other European countries.

According to Muzinda’s father and trainer, Tawanda, her daughter, who is the only rider from Africa competing at this event, handled her brand new KTM 85 bike “like a real professional” as she came face-to-face with some top British female riders in her class which had more than 25 bikers.

“The track at Wroxton is really world class as it was also designed for Grand Prix events. I think this is the best motocross track Tanya has ever raced at and this played to her advantage as she did well to take two third place finishes in the first three heats of this meet despite racing under some wet and heavy conditions as it has been raining in Oxford since Friday.

“In fact, Tanya surprised all and sundry with the way she handled her brand new machine as she gave the mainly British female riders in her class a good run for their money in all the three heats. She performed like a real professional biker,” said Tawanda Muzinda, who was speaking from Birmingham, England, on Saturday night.

Tanya was scheduled to compete in two more heats yesterday before the business end of the British Girls National Championships at Wroxton where she was poised to get another place on the podium like what she did during the 2017 HL Racing British Master Kids Championships at Mildenhall’s Motoland track just outside London in May. The Herald