THEY CALL IT THE MOTHER OF EXTREME ENDURO

+ Click to Enlarge BEFORE THE FALL: BMW works rider Gerhard Forster in action on the 2008 Roof of Africa before he suffered a shoulder injury and was forced to withdraw.

November 26, 2009

The 42nd annual Roof of Africa off-road motorcycle race – billed as the Mother of Extreme Enduro - will be raced in Lesotho this weekend over a new and even more difficult route through the Black Maluti Mountains.

The Southern African riders were given a comprehensive riding lesson by New Zealander Chris Birch in 2008 and the heat will be on to defend national pride this year against some top international riders.

The 2009 Roof of Africa will have recorded TV coverage, to be shown from Sunday night, to raise the profile of the event on the Southern African racing scene and place it among the international events, where it belongs.

INTERNET COVERAGE

The race will also have internet coverage with hourly updates on the progress of competitors passing two checkpoints and the finish, and a live race ticker report, on the Roof of Africa website.

After the traditional Round-the-Houses in Maseru's town centre on Thursday morning the time trial will have a refuelling point Ha Ratau, 34km from the start, and finish after 69.7km at the Roma Trading Post next to the A5 main road about 30km outside of Maseru.

On Friday and Saturday the first competitors will leave at 6am from what has become known as Roma Bridge, allowing the most daylight possible for those who need 12 hours in the saddle to finish before being time-barred.