Local riders shun Upington ‘Mantshwabisi’
There is a significant drop in the number of local riders at the Toyota 1,000 Desert Race (TDR) as it starts in Upington, South Africa today until Sunday. The event commonly known as ‘Mantshwabisi’ will for the first time in more than 30 years be hosted outside the country’s borders. It is the most followed event in the local sports calendar, with over 100,000 spectators watching the three-day competition.
The TDR was cancelled last year due to the outbreak of COVID-19. As the event was expected to return to Selebi-Phikwe for the second time, organisers however decided to move the race to Upington in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The race has since been renamed the Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA) 1,000 Desert Race. Speaking to Mmegi Sport, Botswana Motor Sport (BMS) public relations officer, Darryl Ellitson said due to travel and other logistics, several local riders have decided to not compete at the event.
“The TDR is a very special race to Batswana and our affiliates. Members are showing keen interest in entering, however, the number is expected to be low as one can appreciate that the cost of competing in the event has significantly increased as we have to travel and be accommodated in South Africa, further complicating the dynamic and constant situation with respect to COVID-19 protocols,” Elliston said.
On top of the list of local absentees is Ross Branch.
After last weekend’s maiden World Championship victory in Kazakhstan, Branch is preparing for the FIM World Cross-Country Rallies at the Silk Way Rally in Russia and Mongolia to be held early next month. Meanwhile, BMS has announced a 20-member squad for the Motocross of African Nations (MXoAN) to be held in Rwanda in August.
Branch will captain the side that has an abundance of young talent. However, a notable miss is Robert Pollock, while Brady Armstrong and Kagiso Stephens have moved a class up into MX1 class. “We considered individual championship standing at the end of the last championship considering that our 2020 session was disrupted.
That being the case we also considered core sporting values such as sportsmanship, consistency and took into account factors beyond the riders’ control that disadvantaged or limited their chance to competitively compete.
This year our focus is recovering, developing and rebuilding the sport and ensuring that motorsport is accessible, which will deepen the talent pool,” Elliston said.
The full team list MX1: Kitso Malebo, D’artagnan Lobjoit, Wade Den, Brady Armstrong, Kagiso Stephens MX 2: Teto Chibana, Victor Du Toit, Boineelo Rantao, Douglas Morris MX Ladies: Mandi Prestorius, Elang Chibana MX High School: Kosmas Mamaloukos MX 85: Seth Meyer, Zameer Bodhanya MX 65: Jordan Maloba, Kazz Gouveia, Dupreez Pretorius, Nathan Pieterse MX. Veterans: Ross Branch, Brad Pieterse