Mikia Kalati
THE Lesotho Off-Road Association (LORA) reckons that the lack of interest in motorcycling by local youth is a resultant of the fact that it is an expensive sport hence is an expensive sport.
The country is preparing to host the 52nd edition of the Roof of Africa that is scheduled for December this year but there has not been any significant uptake of the sport by local youths.
Only three local riders, Basia Maseatile, Timello Tšolo and Tobatsi Maseatile have so far qualified for the 2018 edition of the competitions in the bronze category qualifiers that were held at Ha Ramabanta a fortnight ago.
The trio will be joined by Joseph Motenane and Teboho Moretlo, who are in the silver class category of the competition dubbed the ‘Mother of Hard Enduro’.
LORA public relations officer, Keketso Malebo, admitted that the sport has failed to grow in the country due to the high cost of purchasing and maintaining motorcycles.
He said they are exploring means grow the sport in the country and they are considering bringing back quard bikes which are cheaper.
“When the Roof of Africa started, it was a car race before it moved into motorcycling and later quard bikes but we faced challenges since our routes were poor so we scrapped them off,” Malebo said.
“We decided to settle for a competition for motorcycles as it did not demand a lot in terms of the routes but we are now weighing options so that we can bring back the quad bikes.”
Malebo said they have also noted that the number of people that are using quad bikes is increasing in Southern Africa so they would consider a lot of factors.
He said for riders to get regular competition they have to go and participate in events that are held in South Africa, which is also an expensive exercise as the sport suffers from lack of corporate support.
“Another huge challenge for the sport is lack of sponsorship especially on the part of rider. Getting a bike alone itself is still expensive and maintenance increases the costs.
“It is also a very risk sport as some of the injuries that riders suffer are life threatening and this could be another reason that despite the fact that we have hosted the sport for so long we still have such small numbers of local riders competing.
“However, we are hopeful that we will find solutions to make the sport bigger in the country and have a bigger participation in the Roof of Africa,” he said.
