Moorosi Tsiane
THE Lesotho Off-Road Association (LORA) will tomorrow launch the inaugural Senqu Hard Enduro in Qacha’s Nek.
The three-day event will feature at least 100 motor bikers. The riders will start their competitions at Letloepe Lodge and finish off at the same spot for all three days until Sunday.
LORA secretary general, Koo Lemeke, said 11 local riders have so far expressed interest in participating in the race. The race will be used to prepare riders for the upcoming Roof of Africa Race in November.
He said they are working in line with the Lesotho Sport and Recreation Commission (LSRC’s) vision of taking the sport closer to the people.
The race will start with a 65km time trial on Friday.
“We will be launching the race on Friday in Qacha’s Nek,” Lemeke said.
“We are doing this in line with the LSRC’s vision of taking sports to the people. However, since motorsport is extremely expensive and also because it is an individual sport, we decided hold the race in the north and south regions.
“We have 81 riders who have registered but we are expecting at least 100 participants. Eleven of those 85 are Basotho.”
He said the weekend race will not have quad bikes while top riders like Wayde Young will not participate since this is a small event.
“This is just a smaller race compared to Roof of Africa, so the likes of Young won’t be participating. Also, it is just for two wheelers only.
“We had hoped to stage the race last year but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were forced to postpone it. Some of the riders will be using this race to prepare for the Roof of Africa. Just like in the Roof of Africa, we will have three categories namely, Bronze, Silver and Gold.”
Of the Basotho contingent, six will be competing in the silver category while the other five will be in the bronze category.
“We normally hold the Roof of Africa Race in the first weekend of December but because of the upcoming Region 5 games, we requested the Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation Minister Likeleli Tampane for different dates. We were therefore given 24 to 27 November.
“The plan is to stage the event annually but we will have to review how the pilot event pans out,” Lemeke said.
