Riders ready to roll
Correspondent | Friday June 26, 2015 12:30
Jwaneng, 160 kilometers south west of Gaborone will for the second time host the desert race, commonly known as Mmantshwabise.
Fans will descend on the mining town to witness drivers and riders battle for the ultimate prize of gaining automatic qualification to the Dakar challenge. To some, this will be business as usual whilst, for others, it’s more of a case of baptism of fire and to 16-year-old Mark Carr-Hartley, racing is more than just trying to win competitions. It’s something that he has in his blood. He currently rides a KTM 250cc off-road bike and a KTM 350cc motocross bike. His racing number is 116.
“I have a passion for the sport that nobody will ever understand. I may not be the best rider in the field but I am certainly one of the most eager and passionate” Mark Carr-Hartley told ∆.
“I’m very excited and my goal is to come top 15 in my class and I hope that people will come in large numbers to support us”, added Carr-Hartley. Mark has been racing since the age of three and this will be his first ever Desert Race.
Conrad Oosthuizen, owner of Moleko Printers cc is participating in the race for the second time.
Osthuizen does classes Extreme Enduro and Enduro. His goal for this year is to get a good finish at the Roof of Africa to be held later this year at the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, Maseru. He rides a KTM 300cc, 2 stroke bike.
Also to watch is the rose of the Gaborone Motor Club affiliated Kabelo Red Mogolodi of Dusty Boys Racing Team. His race number is C677 and will be riding on a Yamaha Banshee bike. Red aims to be in the top 10 position and according to him, he has an unfinished business as he had a mechanical failure last year with 60 kilometers left after starting the race at the back of the grid.
Having grown up in a family infested motor cyclists, Red said the best way to race according to one’s ability as opposed to the bike’s capacity. Kabelo will be competing in the Open class riding a 2 stroke 450cc Quad bike and goes to the Desert Race with a 10 year experience in the game.