“I got a bit too confident up the hill and crashed my bike. The clutch cover cracked and oil was leaking out, so I tried to seal it off with metal putty and waited to see if that would work.”
Tim Hay found himself in a tough situation, not sure if he should wait for the putty to dry, or go ahead and risk breaking down completely in his effort to qualify for the Roof of Africa.
The Ballito resident, alongside his friend Nic Stanissis has been in training for a few months for the world-renowned enduro motorcross challenge – the Roof of Africa – and competed in the bronze race qualifier in Lesotho on May 31.
They have been documenting their progress in the “Journey to the Roof” series, which airs on Supersport every month.
Even after Hay crashed his bike and Stanissis had his own clutch problems, they managed to qualify for the race, which takes place in December.
“Two hundred riders compete in the qualifier and the first 90 over the finish line qualified for the Roof. We felt pretty good going into the race. We had been training pretty hard with Russell White,” said Hay.
“We also trained with “Wild Will” Gillet who specifically trains riders for the competition.”
“Nic and I did not start together but we were not far apart. We ended up being among the top five riders to finish the first loop, which was flat but seriously rocky.”
They decided to go steady on the second leg and aimed to not stop until the end.
Things did not quite go according to plan, as Stanissis had a small crash and Hay lost his GPS.
“I kept having to wait for riders to pass me to tail them and find my way.”
The guys regrouped and arrived at the “Mad Cow”, a steep hill section near the finish line that is considered a benchmark for the Roof of Africa.
“If you cannot get up that section, they reckon you will not finish the Roof.”
Despite crashing on the hill, Hay managed to fix his oil leak and cruised to the finish line.
Stanissis finished in 69th place, while Hay came in at number 74.
“We could have done a lot better. It was an eye opener to what we can expect. We were both broken after the race, and the Roof is three days of the same intense riding.”
Nevertheless, Hay is looking forward to the challenge.
Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news.
Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here, or if you’re on desktop, scan the QR code below.
