Dakar type rally to take place in Western Cape in 2014
The Namaqua African Rally (25 April – 3 May 2014), with Namaqua Wines as the main sponsor, was initiated by former off-road motorcycle rider and businessman, George Booker, who is also the organiser of this event. This event will start and finish at the Victory & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town while the bulk of the racing will take place in the Vredendal area at the Cape West Coast.
Vredendal, the home of Namaqua Wines’ manufacturing facilities, will therefore also form the heart of the event with the overnight bivouac – à la ‘Dakar’ – situated at the Vredendal Show Grounds from Sunday (27 April) to Thursday evening (May 2nd). Riders will return to the overnight bivouac after each of the four days’ racing and will travel back to Cape Town on Saturday (May 3rd). After one last racing section at the Atlantis Dunes, they will form part of the ceremonial finish at the V & A Waterfront where the award ceremony will also take place.
The Namaqua African Rally is a multi-stage road book rally and will cater for a variety of motorcycle riders who can enter in three different categories. Motorcycle and quad competitors can race in the Competition category in various classes while riders who do not want to race, can either enter in the ‘Rally Raid’ category or the Adventure Tour section. ‘Rally Raid’ riders will be covering 350 or more kilometres a day and will even be riding on some of the same sections than the competitors who will be ahead while those in the Adventure Tour will be following the race according to reference points supplied to them each night at the Riders Briefing. All riders will stay at the overnight bivouac.
Accommodation in the bivouac as well as meals during the race (Sunday to Thursday evening) are only some of the costs that are being covered by the entry fee of R13 850 for racing competitors (R9 850 for Rally Raid and Adventure Tour entrants). Entrants can however make use of a 10% discount if they enter before 17 January 2014. Enter at www.racecontrol.co.za
