Desert Race makes shock return to Gaborone

After years of turning Botswana’s mining town into the heartbeat of off-road motorsport, the race is making a dramatic return to Gaborone. Relocating to the capital signals the beginning of what organisers hope will be a bigger, louder, and more commercially powerful era for the country’s most iconic endurance race. The move ends Jwaneng’s long run as the modern home of the desert spectacle, a relationship that helped revive Botswana’s famous 1,000km racing tradition and turned the event into one of the country’s biggest annual sporting attractions.

The race has been held in Gaborone, Kumakwane and Selebi-Phikwe, amongst other venues, before 'permanent' residence in Jwaneng.