Atete Benzinge emerged as the standout rider at the FIM Autocross of African Nations (MXOAN) held in Marrakech, Morocco.
She secured third place in the WMX Class, finishing behind Zambia’s Leah Heygate and South Africa’s Mienke Cawood.
Her impressive performance contributed to Kenya’s respectable fourth-place finish in the class standings.
Team Kenya celebrated three podium finishes, excelling particularly in the MX50 and MX65 team categories.
In the MX50 female class, Chiara Hatanga claimed second place, just behind Uganda’s Hellena Ainomugisha.
In the MX1 class, team captain Apollo Mbuki finished ninth, while Morocco’s Saad Soulmani dominated the competition, winning all three heats.
Uganda’s Fortune Ssentamu completed the podium in third.
In the MX Vets/Masters category, Kenya’s Fredrick Yongo finished 12th, with South Africa’s Craig Cruger taking the win.
South African riders excelled in the MX50 class, where Joshua-Zion Naude triumphed over Trey Dean and Alessandro Green.
The highest-placed Kenyan in MX50 was Jeremy Hawi Opudo in sixth, followed by Chiara Hatanga (10th), Paul Thanga (12th), Leto Tohani (14th), and Matt Kahondu (16th).
In MX65, Kigen Mutuma was Kenya’s top performer, finishing sixth, while teammates Dylan Hatanga, Jedd Hatanga, and Lemaiyan Muraya Mugo secured 7th, 8th, and 9th places, respectively. Armani Amani and Jayden Njogu finished 11th and 18th.
Overall, Kenya finished fourth in the event, with South Africa leading the standings with 586 points, followed by Uganda with 479 points and the host nation Morocco in third with 447 points.
This highly anticipated two-day event featured over 200 riders from ten countries competing fiercely.
