‘Mantshwabisi’ in doubt
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday January 27, 2024 06:00
The Road to Dakar is a series of competitions where riders earn points to qualify for the Dakar Rally 2025. The Desert Race is the only qualifier outside the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship races. The organisers of the Dakar Rally are yet to announce the dates for the Upington Desert Race but it is expected to be held on the third weekend of June, which is the usual time of the Mantshwabisi. Upington has previously hosted the Desert Race on three occasions in 2020, 2021 and 2023, which saw local enthusiasts miss out on the popular event. Competitors will earn eight points from the Upington Desert Race as the future of Mantshwabisi looks bleak.
This is despite TDR1000 making a return to Botswana after a four year hiatus in 2023. Local authorities including the Botswana Tourism Organisation and the Botswana Motor Sport (BMS) had announced that they penned a five-year contract with the South African motorsport authorities, who hold the rights to the most followed sporting event, to be held in Botswana. The five-year deal was to have Botswana host the TDR1000 for five years from 2023 until 2027. The BMS could not comment on the recent developments as they will hold a series of meetings with stakeholders on the matter.
The BTO on the other hand indicated it would respond to MmegiSport inquiries on the issue, next week. It would not be the first time Botswana has lost the TDR1000 as in 2020 the race was moved to South Africa due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Northern Cape in South Africa went on to host the race for two more years until it was brought back to the local shores last year June. Apart from Jwaneng, the TDR1000 has been held in Mantshwabisi, Kumakwane and Selebi-Phikwe. The race attracts the biggest crowd for a sporting event, with over 50, 000 attending the event over three days of the competition. It is also said to gross millions of pula in profits for both major and small scale businesses in the region.
The TDR1000 remains the longest off-road race in Botswana and is the third and fourth rounds of both the BMS National Championship and the South African Cross Country Series with competitors earning double points.