South African riders have a long history with the Grand Prix series, starting all the way back to Rob Herring, who raced in the 1980s. Herring started an exciting three decades for South Africans in Europe and some riders that followed his lead, became World champions.

Greg Albertyn was the first, winning three World championships, one in the 125cc class some 33 years ago in 1992. A year later Albertyn would add title number two in the 250cc class, beating Stefan Everts and did the same in 1994, before heading off to America, where he also won an AMA 450 motocross championship.

Following Albertyn into Europe was the Zulu Warrior, Grant Langston, who also won a World 125cc championship in a brilliant battle with Mike Brown and James Dobb. That title came in 2000, so some 25 years ago. Langston also moved to America, where he also won an AMA 450 motocross championship.

The third of the South African World motocross champions was Tyla Rattray, who won his MX2 championship in 2008, and he also headed to America to race, although he didn’t have the same success there as his predecessors.

Calvin Vlaanderen also made the move to Europe from South Africa, but with most of his adult life in The Netherlands, he transferred his alliance to that country. While he hasn’t had the same success as Albertyn, Langston and Rattray, he has won GPs and remains one of the elite riders in the MXGP class.

The final of the South Africans to move to Europe, is the talented Camden McLellan of the Triumph factory team. Of course, McLellan won last weekends opening moto, as he continues to climb the World rankings and is becoming a serious contender for not only GP wins, but also a World MX2 championship.

Ranked number seven in the World on 155 points, his 2-3 performance in Sardinia and his moto win last weekend shows he is learning fast. Below is his season so far, in his own words.

Trentino – Round Five

“It felt amazing to get the holeshot and have fresh air in front (for Saturdays qualification win). I could have panicked, and I thought Adamo was coming close. I want to thank my family and also the whole Triumph racing team. It’s been a very positive weekend for me here in Italy as I picked up my first-ever race win! From the get-go on Saturday, I felt good, and my bike was working perfectly. My starts were also good all weekend and to holeshot and then win race one was amazing. The second race was going well until I hit neutral before a jump and crashed – that ruled out any chance of getting on the overall podium. I want to thank the team for what they do and helping me to get this win, and now the focus is on Switzerland next weekend.”

Sardinia – Round Four

I love this place; good memories and I came in with good vibes and I feel good physically and this is a good way to get it going after the other rounds. That’s round four wrapped up here in Sardinia and it’s been an amazing weekend. To be back on the podium is awesome and I can’t thank the team enough for what they do. I felt strong on the bike from free practice through to the last lap of race two and everything just went right for me this weekend. I do need to improve my starts but besides that, it’s been a great weekend and to be running up front again has given me a lot of confidence.

France – Round Three

“It’s been an up and down weekend. I’m very happy with my feeling on the bike and the steps we made this weekend. We’re definitely on the right track, the speed and fitness are there, but I just need to eliminate the small mistakes. And with some better starts we’ll be good. I’m excited to get training in the sand now, especially as I landed on the podium in Riola last year. It’s a really good track for me so I’m excited for the next GP for sure”.

Spain – Round Two

“That’s the second round done and it’s been a really wet one. With the team we made some great improvements to the bike ahead of this race and they worked really well on track. The second race was a little disappointing. After a great start, I was running third and then I went off track and got stuck in a huge pile of mud, so that was my race over. But despite the results the bike is working awesome and I’m excited to be racing again next weekend.”

Argentina – Round One

“So that’s the first GP of the season done and it’s been pretty good. The track was great and super fun to ride, and I’ve really enjoyed the trip over here. In the qualifying race I got caught up in two crashes so that wasn’t ideal but today was much better. My speed and fitness are good as I showed in both races and my bike was just awesome. Thanks to the team for building such a great bike and their hard work this weekend, and now we head back to Europe, healthy and excited for Spain.”

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