Roof of Africa - November 25 - 27, 2010
2009 saw the 41st running of the Roof of Africa. The event has been held every year since 1967 (except for 1998).
The event started as a car only event, but by 1969 motorcycles were taking part. 1990 saw the first quad competing and this combination continued to 2000 after which the event became purely a motorcycle and quad event. 2006 saw a record entry of 480 competitors and the event was becoming unmanageable with accommodation and routes being overburdened.
It was decided in 2007 to restrict the entry to a maximum of 300 and only allow motorcycles to compete. 2007 saw the beginning of a new partnership with Baboons GMBH., one of Europeans leading race promotion company based in Germany whose aims are to promote the event on a global scale.
Status of the Roof of Africa
The event is inscribed on the International FIM (Federation Internationale Motorcycliste) Calendar and is acknowledged to be one of the toughest Off Road events in the world. Over the years many foreign competitors have taken part. About 10 to 20 overseas competitors yearly, find their way to the "Mother of Hardenduro" how the ROOF is called.
Organisation
The event is organized by the Lesotho Off Road Association, a locally based club which comprises mainly Mosotho members. Peter Luck & Ashley Thorn have over 60 years combined experience of Off Road Racing organization & competition not only with the Roof of Africa but the whole of Southern Africa. The global promotion of the ROOF is in the hands of BABOONS.
Some of the stages and traditions
Lesotho is the highest country above sea-level in Southern Africa, with regular snowfalls and extremely cold winter conditions. In the central countryside, high up in the mountains, the country is desolate, and locals have to travel long distances on horseback to reach civilisation, and food supplies. Access in many areas is limited to very rough and rocky gravel roads, often washed out by rain and storm water.
The Lesotho Kingdom is an ethnic country, the pride of the Sotho people.
In this barren mountain country, the Roof of Africa will test competitors and their motorcycles since more than 40 years, across gravel tracks, mountain passes and flat grass lands over three days of racing.
Starting off with the traditional 'Round the Houses' in the heart of the Capital Maseru, competitors on off-road machines find themselves sliding around tight tar road bends in a circuit street race, to determine the starting positions for the time-trial.
Racing Day 1 is completed with a time-trial and a feel of what lies ahead over a relatively short stage of about 75 kilometers. The overall time usually includes the time-trial time. Not only do competitors very quickly come to realise the difficulty, but also the intensity of the Roof of Africa.
The next two days is mainly test and struggle, seperating the committed racers and the fun-riders. With an average distance of around 250 to 300km covered per day, competitors are confronted with every type of terrain and difficulty factor that Lesotho has to offer. Gravel roads lead into narrow footpaths, across riverbeds and into treacherous rocky mountain passes.
In a few instances these so-called mountain passes are merely dry rocky mountain streams, where the water has washed away the soil and the remaining rocks form a pathway. These push-the-bike, pick-it-up and push-again mountain crossings are negotted up-hill and down-hill, which resulted in some of the funny but very descriptive names like Slide-Your-Ass-Pass, Jockstrap Pass, Baboons Pass, Don't-Cough Pass and more recently Music Box and Hitlers Revenge.
Due to the difficulty factor, many competitors leave their big strong bikes at home and rather attempt this race with 200cc and 250cc machines that are lighter and much easier to handle in the difficult sections.
But, not the entire race is a struggle! Competitors often miss the scenery of this mountain country. However, every now and then competitor's attention will be distracted by the exceptional landscapes and the amazing views surrounding them throughout the route.
For more information or how to compete in this race, please visit www.roof-of-africa.com