Matatiele, Eastern Cape - This rural area on the KwaZulu-Natal border will serve as the final playing field for the 2014 SA Enduro Motorcycle championship, with the sixth round of the series on Saturday 25 October.
Teenage KTM star Wade Young is leading overall after winning four of the five enduros so far this season; he's also leading the E1 (200cc) Class standings by 17 points from his team mate Travis Teasdale, who notched up his first podium finish at the Matatiele enduro last year. Teasdale is just six points ahead of Yamaha's Brett Swanepoel in E1, however, and will be feeling the pressure.
Two more KwaZulu-Natal riders round out the E1 top five - Brandon Warwick-Oliver (Honda) who has been scoring consistently all season, and Matatiele schoolboy Henco Botha (KTM) who would like to keep (or better) his fifth place in E1 in his rookie season in the National arena.
E2 CLASS
Defending Open Class champion Altus de Wet (Husqvarna) hasn't won an enduro outright this season, but he leads the E2 Class after winning it four times and is second overall. Another E2 victory will nail down the class title; he leads second-placed Louwrens Mahoney (KTM) by 21 points.
Multiple former champion Mahoney will be feeling the pressure from all sides - not only is he the only other rider with a race victory behind his name this year but he'll have Kenny Gilbert (Yamaha) chasing him for second place in E2 (only four points separate them) while Teasdale will his sights set on Mahoney, as they're tied for third overall, 20 points behind De Wet, himself 14 points adrift of Young).
De Wet's team-mate Blake Gutzeit changed from Sherco to Husqvarna halfway through the season and is fourth in E2, but will also target another overall podium finish at Matatiele after his mainden podium at this enduro last year. Scott Bouverie (KTM) couldn't ride in the previous round due to injury but is still fifth in E, only two points behind Gutzeit; he'd like nothing better than to come back with a bang.
OVERALL STANDINGS
Young has already won four times this season and already has one had on the championship; De Wet has only a mathematical chance of catching him, and himself has a comfortable lead over Mahoney and Teasdale behind him.
Gilbert, however, will want to close the 10-point gap to Mahoney, with new team-mate Swanepoel just one point behind him in sixth overall.
SENIOR CLASS
Anything could happen and probably will, with all the pressure on multiple defending champion, William 'Wild Bill' Gillitt (Yamaha) who's leading the class after three wins, and two more podium finishes - but Hartebeespoort veteran Hilton Hayward (Yamaha) has finally taken a class win after finishing second in the first four rounds.
Suspension guru Hayward is now just two points behind Gillit, setting up a cliff-hanger finale, with Bruce May (third on points and not out of contention) ready to pick up the pieces if the two top guns take each other out.
MASTER CLASS
Off-road legend Alfie Cox (KTM) has dominated this class all season, and looks set to dethrone defending title-holder Denzil Torlage at his first attempt - but Torlage did not win the championship by giving up before the fat lady sings, and will take this fight all the way to the finish line at the Matatiele Country Club on Saturday.
Behind him there's likely to be another hard-fought duel for third overall between Garth Prost (Husqvarna) and Beta rider Shaun Kirk, third and fourth respectively in class with just one point between them after five out of six rounds.
WHERE AND WHEN
The Matatiele Enduro will start at 8am on Saturday 25 October from the Matatiele Country Club. There will be four Special Stages with some of the racing action quite close to the pits and central service point at the Country Club.