The Diamond Route 400 that will take place for the second consecutive year in the Wolmaransstad area in the North-West Province, will open the 2012 national off-road racing season for motorcycle and quad competitors on 24 and 25 February and will be the first of six rounds of this year's championship.

In 2011 the Diamond Route 400 was a new event on the national calendar and even though the organisers had to make last minute adjustments to the set route due to heavy rains during the two months preceding the event, they still claimed third spot in the Best Event standings. This year the organisers, the experienced Verwes Club, vowed to make it even better for competitors who will aim to put their first points towards the national championships on the scoreboard.

Comparing the names on the entry list with the final points' standings last year, it seems that some Big Battles will continue in the bush this year. The defending title holder and OR1 (Open Class) champion, Jade Gutzeit (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha), will aim for a third consecutive overall title, but will have his work cut out for him. His former team-mate, Louwrens Mahoney, now in the colours of Brother Broadlink KTM and also competing in OR1, won this race last year, but finished second overall at the end of 2011. A knee injury towards the end of the season kept him from training, but he would like to add this victory to his name again.

The rest of the Brother Broadlink KTM team will also be out in full force including Gray Dick who finished second at this event last year as well as the defending OR2 and OR4 champions, Riaan van Niekerk and Tyron Miller. Miller will now compete in OR3 (200cc Class) next to with Michael Creevy while Altus de Wet will stand his man in OR2 together with Van Niekerk. The defending OR3 champion, Marc Torlage (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha), who finished the 2011 seaon in fourth place overall, will add even more spice to OR2.

Most of the regular top 20 riders will be back in action – Juan 'Bollie' van Rooyen (Kawasaki Out of Africa Racing) carries the #3 plate on his Kawasaki this year and will strutt his stuff in OR1 again together with Ruan Roberts (Yamaha) and the Webster brothers, Jonathan and Christopher (Micks Motorycycles Yamaha) who will hope for some better luck this season. Other Yamaha riders include regular top ten finisher, Wade Blaauw (Salley's Yamaha in OR2); Mark Garland (OR1) and his Kargo Racing team-mates, Bradley van Aswegen (OR3) and Timothy Young (OR2).

Ramco Racing will again have their regular points' scorers in the mix with Jonathan van Wyk competing in OR2 with a KTM while Laurie Murton, Philip Mayhew and CJ Blackman will put their Honda's on the OR1 starting grid.

Other interesting names on the entry list include those of Kenneth Gilbert (KTM) who has returned to SA after competing in the USA for the last few years; off-road regular Dillon Inggs (Naledi Wesbank KTM); Michael de Beer (Roost KTM) who is the 2011 winner of the Silver Class Challenge; Charan Moore (Yamaha); Darren Macleod (Yamaha) who finished third in the Silver Class Challenge last year and female Roof of Africa competitor, Toni Jardine (Rockgarden Gas Gas) who has entered in the OR4 Under 21 Class.

On national level entrants in the OR3 and OR4 Classes will be combined in a 'new' OR3 Class where the competition will be fierce with a few more experienced and some young and fearless riders who will fight for the title.

It seems as if the defending Senior Class champ, Wayne Farmer (LCP Racing Gas Gas) and runner-up, Guy Henley (Kawasaki Out of Africa Racing) will again lock horns this season after their ding-dong battle last year. Riders like the 2011 Dakar finisher, Albert Hintenaus (KTM) and enduro specialist, Steve Landman (Suzuki) can however upset their applecart. Although Senior Class competitors only do 75% of the full race distance (including the time-trial), the competition has been very strong between the riders older than 38 years. Botswana's Neil Gailey (Naledi Wesbank KTM) will again defend his Master Class title in the class for riders older than 46 years who do 50% of the race distance.

The Silver Class Challenge teems with names of talented junior off-road competitors including Roan Lindsay (Roost Gemini KTM) who finished second in this class in 2011; Brandon Youell (Kargo Racing KTM); Blake Gutzeit (Fever Criterion Yamaha); Jaycee Nienaber (Manhand Racing Yamaha Support); Louw Schmidt (Dirtstyle Suzuki Honeydew) and Karel Hattingh (Guma Sports Yamaha). Warren Marshall (Kawasaki) finished fifth in this class last year and has entered again and predicting a winner will be risky.

QUADS: On four wheels the former champion and overall runner-up the last two seasons, Brian Baragwanath (Lonestar PEP Yamaha) will again aim for the title, but he will have to fight off former junior champions, Jacky Antiga (Can-Am), who started the Diamond Route 400 last year from the back of the field after drowning his quad during time-trial and eventually finished seventh overall as well as Sabcool KTM's Michael Wagner and Matthew Barnard (2011 champion). More competitors from last year's junior series like Factory Racing's Dino do Amaral (KTM) and Tinus Bredenkamp (Can-Am) have also moved to the senior series where they will compare notes with the more experienced riders.

They will have to stand strong against regular top ten riders like André du Plessis (Evolution Racing Suzuki) and Jacques Struwig (Boesman Racing Suzuki) who finished respectively second and third at this race last year; Cornel Kannemeyer (Water Rite Racing Kawasaki); Hannes Saaijman (EMD Racing Suzuki) and David Hollis (Micks Motorcycles Yamaha) as well as Leonard dos Santos (Suzuki); Eric Williams (PS Storm Racing Honda); Freddie Taljaard (Evolution Racing Suzuki; Damien Lee (Honda) and Stefan Swanpoel (Quad Revolution Yamaha) who have been competing regularly and know the ropes by now.

Danie Senekal (Factory Racing) is returning to the sport while the winner of the 2011 Silver Class Challenge, Henk Seevinck (Quad Revolution Suzuki), will now also compete in the Q1 Class and Jurie Meyer (Yamaha Support) is now competing full time in South Africa after racing in the USA last year.

The regulars are all back in the Master Class where Jurie Meyer Sr (Yamaha Support) will defend the title he has earned the last two years while Kobus Visser (Echo 4x4 Powersport Can-Am) will go for the Q3 Utility Class title again, but the entries in this popular class have grown and the competition will be tough.

The ladies hope more will join them in the Ladies Class where last year's runner-up, Chardri Monk (Thesen's Generators KTM), will aim for the title together with former class winner, Amanda Eardley (EPS Racing Can-Am) who is also competing in the Q3 Class and André du Plessis' twin-sister, Adi (Evolution Racing Suzuki).

The Diamond Route 400 starts on Friday (24 February) with the time-trial that determines the starting order and times for the race on Saturday (25 February) when the motorcycle and quad competitors will tackle the race on separate loops at 08h00. National full distance competitors will have to complete their loop twice before switching to the other loop after a 15 minute de-control and will have finished the race if they have completed the second loop twice as well. All the activities takes place from the farm Rietkuil about 12km outside Wolmaransstad.

(The Diamond Route 400 is a Motorsport SA-sanctioned event.)