COMPETING AGAINST THE WORLD'S BEST

+ Click to Enlarge THE SAHARA DESERT IS A BIG PLACE: Albert Hintenaus on the 2009 Pharaohs International Cross-Country rally. He finished 10th overall and was the second private entrant home.

October 29, 2009

Cape Town's Albert Hintenaus has finished 10th overall (fourth in class and second private entry) in the 2009 Pharaohs International Cross-Country rally, run over October 3-10 in Egypt as part of the International Cross-Country Rally World Cup.

Hintenaus, riding a KTM 660 Rallye, was the only South African on the rally, though it attracted a strong field of professional and top amateur entries from around the world.

The rally pitted riders and drivers of motorcycles, cars and trucks against the endless and unforgiving north-eastern Sahara over a total racing-stage distance of almost 3000km spread over seven days.

Hintenaus said he was very satisfied with his result, which he said placed him among the world's best rally-raid riders.

"It's difficult to be competitive in such an event," he said, "when you consider how little chance a South African amateur has of racing a rally bike internationally and navigating using a road book."

Hintenaus' previous experience in the international rally arena includes a partial Dakar in 2007 (his bike broke down), preparation and training for the 2008 - which was cancelled – and a very successful Rally of Tunisia in 2008 (including a stage win) and a respectable finish after a nasty crash in the 2008 Pharaohs rally.

SUPPORT FROM HOME

Commenting on the global appeal of these type of events, Hintenaus said: "The 2009 Pharaohs was special because, for the first time, I was able to stay in touch with my South African supporters through a daily newsletter and my website detailing my experiences on each day's stage.

"I was the only South African entrant and, with hundreds of email responses during the rally, all the support from back home was extremely encouraging and sorely needed!"

The rally was won by Dakar veteran Cyril Despres of France, on a KTM690, and many of the other top 10 places were taken by established young pro's such as Helder Rodriguez from Portugal and Frenchman Olivier Pain (each on a Yamaha), Italian Luca Manca (KTM) and Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez from Chile on an Aprilia 450 V-twin.

Over the past four years, Hintenaus has combined overseas rallies with family and business commitments as well as local enduro and off-road racing.

He said: "The past few years been a busy time and a steep learning curve for me but I can finally see the light at the end of the rally-raid tunnel. I've made all the necessary contacts overseas and, with some work on the bike, especially the suspension, my results are bound to improve."

Read Hintenaus' daily newletters from the rally:

Introduction
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Stage 7