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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Bulawayo Motoring Club’s end of year event — Three Hour Endurance Race — has attracted foreign participants, with 14-year old Britain-born Zimbabwean rider Connor Thompson being the first to arrive for the December 10 competition.

Connor, who competed at the British Superbikes, jetted into Bulawayo on Wednesday afternoon confident of emerging victorious at next weekend’s race.

“I’m really excited to be in Zimbabwe, Bulawayo in particular. The area is beautiful and I hope to get out there and reach greater heights on race day.

“I’m really looking forward to racing against the experienced guys and I’m going to give my best so that I win,” said Connor.

The youngster from Surrey competes in the KTM Junior Cup in England. He started racing when he was seven, but his father Dale Beanz Thompson, an ex-British Superbikes rider, decided  to build his son’s career in 2013.

Since then, Connor has been delivering a host of strong results which saw him grabbing the attention of front running teams. For the 2016 season Connor signed for Team Steelmate Racing and finished a very impressive sixth in the championship despite missing the first four rounds, also bagging two wins and four second-place finishes.

At the BMC race, Connor will race for South Africa’s Monroe Racing Club who are also sending another teenager, Savannah Woodward.

The 16-year-old Savannah has been prolific this year, having competed in both South Africa and Zimbabwe. The highlight of her season was her selection for the Red Bull Rookies Cup trials in Spain.

The two-wheel entries will be completed by David Mouat and Gerrit Rademeyer. All the above riders will be competing on Kawasaki ZX6 machines.

Other bikers expected at the BMC event are Bianca Schultz from Bulawayo, who will ride a Honda CBR600 and is expected to face stiff competition from Harare’s Tiffany Fisher, who will also be using a similar bike.

These two competitors have improved steadily in recent years, with Tiffany winning last year’s Megelli 250 cc Zimbabwe National Championship.

— @ZililoR