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Great excitement is building
for the 2010 Roof of Africa
to be held from 25 to 27 November
in the mountains of the Kingdom
of Lesotho. The 43rd running
of the event promises to be
radically different, making
it a lot more attractive for
competitors and spectators.
Time to make a bold statement
that was the attitude and
approach of the Lesotho Off-Road
Association (LORA) the national
organizers Adventure Lesotho
and Extreme Offroad Promotions
as well as Baboons, the international
promoter of the 2010 edition
of the event. This year there
should see minimal DNFs (Did
Not Finish) that is, most
competitors will receive a ‘Finisher’s
Badge’. As it was decided to
completely change the format
this year; each rider will determine
which level of achievement he
plans to conquer during the
last race day.
However, last year the Friday
and Saturday routes were very
difficult for the average competitor
and therefore the organizers
went back to the drawing board
and came up with an immaculate
format to suit a much bigger
field.
It states: when the first set
of hard sections on Thursday
and Friday are passed and the
competitor doesn`t get to the
top of it within a previously
defined time frame, that competitor
will be time barred like the
years before. But the competitor
is not out of race. He only
gets a penalty and may start
next day.
The outlook on the final race
day: Riders will have to reach
pre-determined points to achieve
a bronze, silver or gold finish.
After completing the bronze
section a competitor can attempt
the silver and so forth, as
long as they are within the
set time limits. By implementing
serious time controls at each
stage, the organizers prevent
late finishers and ensure that
everyone arrives at the finish
before dark. In this way everybody
is ranked in the final result.
“We want to make it possible
for competitors to obtain finishers
badges this year, the competitors
themselves determine whether
they receive Gold, Silver, or
Bronze. The format is in a way
similar to some of the other
World Extreme Enduro Championship
Races in that there are different
levels of difficulty to conquer,”
said Peter Luck from LORA.
The new format will create a
lot of excitement, however,
the race will keep its position
as one, if not the most gruelling
Enduro race in the world. This
will be clearly demonstrated
on the final race day as competitors
battle with the Maluti Mountains
to achieve their set goals,
and it will be no walk in the
park.
It is believed that the new
race format will also improve
race safety as competitors will
all be accounted for in a much
simpler fashion. Marshalling
and control of times will be
very strict, ensuring exact
entry and exit monitoring at
obstacle sets.
A large contingent of international
competitors will participate
in this year’s event, with the
top Southern African riders
training very hard to stop Kiwi
Chris Birch from achieving a
hatrick of wins. The KTM master
dominated the 2008 and 2009
events even though BMW’s Andreas
Lettenbichler launched a major
attempt last year. In 2010 Letti
will be flanked by BMW’s factory
rider Simo Kirssi.
Taddy Blazusiak was forced to
withdraw from the 2009 Roof
of Africa because he was injured,
but he will hopefully compete
this year and he definitely
poses a threat to last year’s
front runners.
Although it officially starts
in 2011, competitors are very
aware of the WXEC because from
next year they will compete
for overall championship status.
With a growing international
contingent expected this year,
the 2010 Roof of Africa promises
to be a very exciting event.
Event Sponsor: Lesotho
Sun
International Promoter:
Baboons GmbH, Germany
Event Organizer: Adventure
Lesotho (PTY) LTD
Contact: info@baboons.de
For highres photos please look
at www.roof-of-africa.com
category "pics" and "press download".
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