National off-road motorcycle and quad racing governing bodies, race organisers, sponsors and competitors are rallying to save the image and future of the sport after the final event of the season, the 39th Roof of Africa.
Arguably one of the toughest races of its kind in the world, the Roof of Africa 2006, staged from November 30 to December 2 in Lesotho, was plagued by poor organisation and a series of logistical and supply failures, making it the low point in a year of off-road racing beset by problems.
As a result, the Roof may be scrapped from the national off-road racing calendar for 2007. This will be decided after either an off-road commission board meeting or a court of inquiry conducted by Motorsport South Africa.
Ian Mirk, president of the Offroad Commission, says although negotiations continue, at least one of the Roof’s two primary organisers sees merit in running the race as a separate event outside of the national offroad championship next year and therefore not subject to its regulations.
If that view persists, the race could cover greater distances than the current 1Â 000km in the premier class, span more than the customary three days and cross more difficult terrain to establish it as the top worldwide event in its category.
“There are a number of serious concerns that arose from the failures at this year’s Roof,” says Mirk. “Chief among those is competitor safety and the organiser’s ability to help riders in trouble. Currently, Andre Stassen sees merit in removing the Roof from the calendar, which will introduce the necessary flexibility to address these concerns. But Peter Luck is reluctant and wants to maintain the tradition of ending the national offroad championship with his event.”
The race is operated by the Lesotho Offroad Motorcycle Club, and Stassen and Luck are clerks of the course for quads and motorcycles respectively.
While viewpoints differ about the root of this year’s ills, there were two firsts at the event: the introduction of a third, intermediary route, which helped swell competitor numbers from just more than 300 last year to almost 480 this year, and a new electronic, transponder-based timing system, which did not operate smoothly.
Standard off-road racing regulations require an ambulance every 60km along the route. Lesotho’s mountainous terrain did not allow for this, so the Lesotho Offroad Motorcycle Club circumvented this rule by having a Lesotho Defence Force helicopter available for medical rescue.
Competitors, team bosses and sponsors have listed a number of complaints, ranging from a lack of communication between marshal points, inadequately briefed marshals, a rescue chopper without fuel, and the unavailability of race officials for comment and updates, while several riders were stranded on the course for a night.
While consensus has yet to be reached, Mirk is encouraged that race organisers, the Offroad Commission, team bosses and competitors have rallied to cooperate in finding a solution. Similar issues saw the famous Desert Race scrapped earlier in the year.
“We’re cleaning our own house for the good of the sport and to ensure that the 25% competitor licence growth figure is not only sustained, but continues to expand,” says Mirk.