The Sarona Kalahari 1000 Race made its debut on the local scene over the weekend in Jwaneng and became the first Botswana-owned 1,000km desert race. It was the first time a 1,000km desert race was held since South Africa's now-defunct 1000km Toyota Desert Race (TDR), popularly known as Mantshwabisi. Sarona Kalahari 1000 Race forms the first and second rounds of the Botswana Off-Road Racing Championship (BORRC) and also, the second and third rounds of the BMS National Off-Road Championship. The Sarona Kalahari 1000 Race was widely representative, attracting competitors from Namibia and South Africa, who joined local competitors. The race had 26 bike entries and a further 18 entries in the car category. BMS president, Kagiso Modibedi, said this echoes Botswana’s potential in hosting world-class off-road racing competitions.
He said the BMS is ready to open unlimited racing to those interested but the catch would be to partner with one of the federation’s affiliates. “I would not say we are open to that kind of business. We are a federation and therefore as a federation, our first priority will always be our affiliates. Our affiliates can go and partner with those who want to make those races, that is how the whole structure can work. For those who are privateers and want to do motorsport events, my advice to them will be to go and find a suitable club. We have got as many as 12 clubs in BMS. They can choose which one they want to work with and then they can work together and create something similar to this or even bigger and better, they are not limited once they have (partnered),” Modibedi told MmegiSport recently. The Sarona Kalahari 1000 Race becomes the longest off-road competition in the country. In previous years, the BMS has proposed hosting Africa’s longest rally. The concept was to host a race that would cover a distance of between 5 000km to 7 000km over a minimum period of seven days.
