Off-road finale set for Gumare
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday September 21, 2024 06:01
The BMS will host round six and seven of the championship in Maun and Gumare over the Independence Day weekend. On September 28, BMS affiliates, Chariots of Fire, Team Maun and Team Orapa host part of the Nhabe-Okavango 400km Off-Road Rally while the race will conclude in Gumare from September 29-30. The Nhabe-Okavango 400km Off-Road Rally sees Gumare become the latest to host the championship as BMS seeks to increase motorsport footprint across the country. Speaking to MmegiSport this week, event secretary, Bonolo Ntshebe, said the inclusion of Gumare would also aid both informal and formal business sectors in the region. She further said since the area has a variety of wildlife, the organisers of the Nhabe-Okavango 400km Off-Road Rally have engaged the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to ensure the safety for the wildlife, competitors and also spectators.
'The growth in the Nhabe event expanding to Gumare is aimed at increasing the motorsport footprint across the country focusing on the North. We have engaged all stakeholders to ensure that the event will improve both formal and informal sectors in the sports tourism landscape. Local authorities have been engaged. The Botswana wildlife team have been sensitised on the upcoming events, therefore expected to put measures in place to ensure the safety of the participants,' said Ntshebe. The 2024 BMS Off-Road Championship had a late start with the Kopong 200 in April, which marked round one. Round two of the championship was the Jwaneng Desert Challenge 300 in June while the third and fourth rounds were held at the Dimawe 200 in July at Mmankgodi. The fifth round was in Paje village in the Central District with the Kokoro 200.
The Nhabe-Okavango 400km Off-Road Rally is open to both professional and amateur riders and drivers. The race will also feature cars and sand masters. The registration fee for senior bikers is P600 and for the juniors is P500 while car registration is P1 000 and P700 for the sand masters. Meanwhile, Botswana's inaugural car off-racing championship, the Botswana Off Road Racing Championship (BORRC), will host its round two this Saturday. The race is dubbed 'Mantshwabisi 300' and will be hosted in the birthplace of the popular desert race, Mantshwabisi village, in north western Kweneng.
On Wednesday, the race had 15 entries with the majority of the riders coming from South Africa. There are only five local competitors in the list with Imraan Arbi and the duo of Altaf Maher and Ahmad Jada in the Production Vehicle Class D and Class T. Dan Moskovic and Eric Visser are in Side X side Class G, the Shariff brothers, Mohammed Bilal and Noor Mohammed will compete in the Special Vehicle Class B and Wassem Hussain alongside Muhammad Desal completes the local line-up in the Special Vehicle Class P.