So its seems Brian Bontekoning is the guy who withdrew.
Its seems to be official that one of the riders is going to miss the first couple of stages because his driver's licence expired!

The plan is for him to get his new licence and then join the rally later. Sad situation but the Amageza Rally has to follow the law very carefully, with independent oversight from the Federation International de Motorciclisme (FIM) and its local representative the MSA of South Africa.
-> Moral of the story is that you should take scrutineering seriously guys.
So we have 83 bikes ready to roll with the briefing being moved to 7:30 pm so riders have time to do their road books.
According to one of the officials the JEEP warehouse was a fantastic facility for the event to start at. Scrutineering was largely very smooth, but I was told that there was a LOT of focus on the required fixed watertanks on the bikes. Riders had to drink from their tanks to prove it was pure, sparkling water and not pure, sparkling motor fuel.

Needless to say everyone drank their water without issue. Tough boys.

I also spoke to Bill the Bong. He is riding with some top guys. Chris Opperman, the famous Willem du Toit, Jacques Greef, and Gerhard Hanekom - the brother of Amageza winner Hentie Hanekom, who is not racing this year, but instead nursing a broken femur after testing the suspension of his new Husky. I understood he hit an anthill at pace, and now Gerhard is riding his bike.
The riders are apparently all calm but anxious to get their road books. Bill tells me there are a lot of very well prepped bikes here, no weekend rides. He says the manne are serious, and many are saying they have prepared well. Goes without say that this group represents the cream of long distance dirt bike riding in South Africa.
All the best guys!
