Evening,
What a day! Geniel and Ross winning stage 2 of Dakar.
I have just got a short speel from Joey
“Just a quick brief and basic explanation about this race I’m on:
The Paris - Dakar Rally ran from 1979-2007 in and around North Africa using many different routes as well as start and finish locations (often in an attempt to avoid political violence and extremist terrorist groups). The vast majority of the races finished in Dakar, Senegal which led to the race being commonly referred to as the “Dakar Rally.”
In 2008 in light of serious terrorism threats to the participants on the route, the race organizers (ASO) were forced to cancel the race, just the night before the start. From the following year 2009, the race was moved to South America and continued as the toughest offroad race in the world.
However there were some guys who still wanted a race to run to Dakar, Senegal and they organized their own race in 2009 with only 10 bike entries. The next year only saw 3 bike entries. Over the years however that race has grown and this year has seen record entries with over 80 bikes.
Although it’s not seen as the “real” Dakar, it does finish in Dakar, Senegal and covers much of the same route as the original Dakar Rally. A grueling race in itself and with the latest move of the Dakar Rally to Saudi Arabia this race has become even more popular.
They are naturally legally prevented from using the name “Dakar Rally” and so they go by the name of the “Africa Eco Race” or just “Africa Race” to most. (There is nothing “Eco” about offroad racing IMO)
The race vehicles and format are identical to the Dakar but they are more lenient on expulsion from the race and it’s more focused on “amateur” teams as supposed to full factory race teams. Their goal is to keep the “rough and tough” nature of the original race and less “bling”. But make no mistake the race route is widely known to be brutal ... over 6000km long through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senagal over a period of 13 days. Bikes, Quads, side by sides, cars and trucks all compete together on the same track. (Word on the street is it can be dangerous for bikers to race with other vehicles!😉)
Racing the Dakar Rally in South America was naturally a dream come true for me. But when the opportunity arose to race the original routes to Dakar, Senegal as I had seen on TV years ago just seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity I couldn’t pass up. So here I am about to race offroad on a motorbike across North Africa. Let’s do this!🤘🏻🇿🇦🏁”
Topic: Africa Eco Race 2020 (Read 4864 times)
