Moorosi Tsiane

WAYDE Young successfully defended his Motul Roof of Africa title in Thaba-Bosiu making it two in as many years.

Affectionately known as the Mother of Hard Enduro, the three-day race kicked off on Thursday with a round the houses competitions at Maseru Club and Maseru Mall.

The first stage of the main race took place on Friday with the final race taking place yesterday in Thaba-Bosiu.

The South African Young proved just too hot to handle for his fellow riders in the gold category from the word go.

He enjoyed the lead from the starting line and enjoyed a massive 10-minutes lead when he reached the Bush-Men pass.

The route, which was mostly new this year, proved tough for most riders as evidenced by the numerous falls. However, they continued with the race.

Young came first and was followed by Scott Bouverie in second and Kyle Flanagan in third.

Ryan Pelser won the Silver category. Dwain Barnard came second while Bruce May came third.

In the Bronze category Austin Stuart, Steven Carr and Richard Moore came first, second and third respectively.

Young said he was proud of his performance and happy that he won the competition for the fifth time in 11 years.

“It’s good to be back in the Roof of Africa and set another milestone,” an elated Young said.

“This race is very special to me because it was the first international race I won and I am happy that I have won it five times and this year I managed to defend my title.

“There are some good international riders who take part in this race and it always feels good to come out victorious. I am happy to have won at home. I call it home because Lesotho is close to South Africa,” Young said.

He admitted that the new route was tougher than what he was used to and gave credit to the organisers for a job well-done.

“The new route was interesting and challenging; it was not what I had anticipated, so I must give credit to the organisers. I think they did a fantastic job.

“For this year, I am done and the focus will shift to France next year as I have some few competitions that I will be competing in. Next December I am here again defending my title.”

Lesotho Off Road Association spokesperson, Keketso Malebo, said they were happy with the race.

“The race was a success and we are happy with how the local rider have improved,” Malebo said.

“Most of them managed to complete their races which is very important. We had 11 riders; one in the gold category; two in silver and the rest in the bronze category.”

Malebo thanked their partners Motul and Live Lesotho who have been working closely in marketing the event.

“This was a much better event thanks to Live Lesotho for organising and marketing the event and also Motul who have been sponsoring the event for four years now. This event would not have been a success without the help of the sponsors and we are thankful for that,” he said.

Malebo said among other challenges, this year they only had one female rider form South Africa.

“It’s difficult to have female riders because often, parents deter girls from riding motorbikes whereas, riding must start at a young age. If they do not start at a young age, they will struggle when they participate on the big stage.

“Parents must start encouraging their female children to ride; that is the only way we can beat this apathy,” Malebo said.