Roof 2010 Format

Exciting 2010 Roof of Africa !

“Baboons” Lesotho Sun ROOF OF AFRICA - 25 to 27 November 2010

Great excitement is building for the 2010 Roof of Africa Rally to be held from 25 to 27 November in the mountains of the Kingdom of Lesotho. The 43rd running of the event promises to be radically different, making it a lot more attractive for competitors and spectators.

Time for a total new approach – that was the view and attitude of the Lesotho Off-Road Association (LORA) and Baboons, the international promoter of the event. This year should see minimal DNFs (Did Not Finish) – that is, most competitors will receive a ‘Finisher’s Badge’. It was decided to completely change the format of the race; each rider will determine which level of achievement he plans to conquer during the race.

Only the legendary Time-trial remains in the same format as in previous years. However, last year the Friday and Saturday routes were very difficult for the average competitor and therefore the organizers went back to the drawing board and came up with an immaculate format to suit a much bigger field.

It states: once a competitor has completed the first set of hard sections and the competitor does not get to the top of it within a previously defined time, that competitor will be time barred and has to take the shorter route to the finish, qualifying to do the Bronze Level (shorter route) on Saturday and will be enabled to achieve a Bronze Finisher’s Badge.

Those who went through the end of these first hard sections in time continue on the Silver and Gold route. All competitors who complete the Silver sections on time immediately attempt the Gold stage. By implementing serious time controls at each stage, the organizers prevent late finishers and ensure that everyone arrives at the finish before dark.

“We want to make it possible for competitors to obtain finishers badges this year, the competitors themselves determine whether they receive Gold, Silver, or Bronze. The format is in a way similar to some of the other World Extreme Enduro Championship Races (WXEC) in that there are different levels of difficulty to conquer,” said Peter Luck from LORA. The new format will create a lot of excitement; however, the race will keep its position as one, if not the most gruelling enduro race in the world.

It is believed that this will also improve race safety as competitors will all be accounted for in a much simpler fashion. Marshalling and control of times will be very strict, ensuring exact entry and exit monitoring at obstacle sets.

A large contingent of international competitors will participate in this year’s event, with the top Southern African riders training very hard to stop Kiwi Chris Birch from achieving a triple set of wins. The KTM master dominated the 2008 and 2009 events even though BMW’s Andreas Lettenbichler launched a major attempt last year. 

Taddy Blazusiak was forced to withdraw from the 2009 Roof of Africa because he was injured, but he will hopefully compete this year and he definitely poses a threat to last year’s front runners.

With a growing international contingent expected this year, the 2010 Roof of Africa promises to be a very exciting event.