Young south resident places second in European MotoGp championship
Taric van der Merwe received his MotoGP national colours on November 9.
Taric van der Merwe(14) made waves in the Superbike scene by being placed second in a European racing championship held in 2018. Taric is a resident of the South and previously attended Waterstone College and St Declans School for boys.
Taric has been racing bikes since 2016. According to his father, Francios van der Merwe, he started racing after going to watch a superbike race and began to express interest in giving the sport a try. In 2017 Taric was placed second in the South African Championship, achieving this impressive feat in his debut year in the competition.
In 2018, Taric competed in the South African Championship and the European Championship. Taking on his first year in the European Championship, Taric took part in six races. The races were in Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Poland, winning the Germany race. He was in pole position for much of the championship before a crash in Croatia led to him losing too many points to be placed first. Taric was also invited to attend the Red Bull MotoGP Cup in Spain for the second year running. He advanced all the way to the final day of qualification but did not qualify for the cup.
On December 9, Taric was awarded his South African colours for MotoGP. His colours were awarded to him by Brad Binder. Taric holds the distinction of being the youngest South African race winner for both the South African Championship and the European Championship.
Next year Taric will start racing in the 600cc division as he has grown too large for the smaller bikes. He will once again be taking part in both the South African and European championships. Taric will be the youngest South African competitor in the 600cc division.
To keep an eye on Tarics career, follow him on Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/TeamTaric32/ or his Instagram page tarric_van_der-merwe32. If anyone would like more information or to sponsor Taric in furthering his career feel free to contact Francios van der Merwe on 082 683 9000.
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