Borneo Cup Motocross 2001
By: William N.P. Chai
Note:The next motocross will be held in December 2001.

The starting of the race.


The roaring noise from the racing bikes broke the tranquility  of  the  Krokong bazaar  and its surrounding kampung,  instead of complaining  the villagers came out in full force to give their support to the twice a year Borneo Cup Motocross  which is held at the Krokong Circuit situated in front of the bazaar and the community hall, some 12 km from Bau town.

It is here that many of  top racers from the district  are born and making themselves a name in the  national and international motocross .  The last week end event (April 14 & 15, 2001) is mainly for the local Sarawakian  motocross racers, which attracted some 70 of them from Bau, Kuching and Miri.  The organiser promised  that the end of the year event, to be held this coming December will be a  grander one with international racers from the neighbouring countries of  Indoneisa, Brunei and  Semenanjung Malaysia.

Jackson Lim in mid air action - letting go his hands from the bike's handle bars.


The motocross is divided into six category, namely  Bau novice,  Cub standard, cub modified/street bikes, scramblers, motocross 125 cc, motocross  open.   In order to add a big of fun and give the youngsters a fair share to show their skills,  a BMX bicycle race was also included  since last year.  Who knows, their will one day grows up to be   racers like their senior racers.  The Bau novice is an event is  surely  the breeding ground for up coming local motocross racers,  It attracted 20 racers,  the largest number of participants  among all the categories.  The youngest Claudie Cosmas is only 12 years old !

The 1.8 km muddy and slippery racing track  is no deterrent to the  dare-devil racers, several of them slipped and fell , but climbed up, pulling up their bikes and continued.  Watching the racers 'flying'  over the bumps and the high table top  is  the thrill that every spectator  is  expecting from the  motocross racers besides  keeping their eyes on who are  the winners.

Motocross racers in action
.

Several of the racers like Frank, Dominic and Jackson Lim and a few others are good mid air performers especially Jackson Lim who even fdare to let go of  his both hands from the handle bars mid air,  his stunting actions gained much applaud from the spectators.  The motocross which is jointly organised by the Krokong Village Development Committee and the Ministry of  Tourism. Among the sponsors are BP and COSMIC Oil, the latter also sponsored the expenses and give extra incentive to the overall champion  Frankton Dominic.

Motocross racers in action


Bau very own ace racer Frank  Dominic, 22 ,  proved that he is too strong to be challenged by capturing the overall champion after emerging as champion in the Motocross Open and Motocross 125 cc.   In the  Motocross Open category, he defeated Ong Siew Heng and his elder brother  Ascenser Dominic  while in the Motocross 125 cc category, he defeated his brother and Nelson Wong .  The twice a year event has been included in the Tourism Calender. However, greater publicity needs to be done to attract more people to the event.

The spectators need a better place for viewing.


Pemanca James Manis, revealed that the organiser has received a grant of  RM30,000 from the Ministry of Tourism to built a  permanent grand stand at the circuit.  Construction work is expected to start soon and to  be ready for the December event.  He also hoped that the ministry  or some private firms will come out to give financial support to the committee to improve on the facilities at the circuit, such as constructing proper seats or spectators'   terraces  for the spectators, as at present, spectators have to stand or  squad  by the sides of the track (usually muddy after raining) or squeezing their way among the crowd to get a view of the  racing. It is hoped that with better facilities, the event will not only attract local racing fans, but also tourists from foreign countries.  

The winners of the MX open from left Nelson(4th placing) Asceser(3rd placing),  Frank(Champion), Ong Siew Heng (2nd ), Jotim (5th)


Results:
BMX  for children   
1. Naple ak Aloi  2. David ak Linos  3. Willy ak Lodut.

Bau Novice   
1. Errick Selik    2. Claudie Cosmas    3. Doles Dilup

Cub Standard  
1. Jong Jaw Min   2. Seymen Nujip   3. Jacquel Michael

Cub Modified/Street Bikes  
1. Jong Yeo Hin   2. Dipy Kim   3. Jacquel Michael

Scramblers  
1. Mathew Martin Paul     2. Poi  Chie Weng   3. William Lim

MX 125 cc  
1. Frank Dominic   2. Ascenser Dominic   3. Nelson Wong

MX Open  
1. Frank  Dominic   2. Ong Siew Heng   3. Ascenser Dominic