Two local riders, Kenny Gilbert (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) and Taye Perry (Bert Smith All Stars Racing Powered by RAD KTM), both were again among the performers at the recent Namaqua African Rally in the Western Cape. Brett Cummings (31) from Witbank in Mpumalanga, a multiple finisher of the Dakar Rally, became the first winner of the Namaqua African Rally. He took the lead despite towing his biggest rival, the defending national off-road motorcycle champion, Kenny Gilbert (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) on the same day when Gilbert ran out of fuel. The racing action started with a 46km Prologue that determined the starting positions. The smooth gravel roads suited the quad competitors, who raced after the bikers, perfectly. Most bikers, including both Cummings and Gilbert, had to eat their dust. A combination of racing and organisational issues complicated the day’s results and the defending quad champion, Jurie ‘Botter’ Meyer (Yamaha Race Support) took the lead over from the Prologue winner, Brian Baragwanath (Team Rhide SA Yamaha), who also competed with a quad. The bikers then made their voices heard and after solid performances – and some bad luck and mechanical problems for a few quad riders – they took the lead. Cummings claimed two stage victories and eventually got the prize money of R100 000 for his victory. Gilbert won three of the racing stages during the event, but lost time when the mousse in the rear tyre collapsed and he ran out of fuel. He was still happy with his result and the prize money of R50 000 after his first ever ‘rally raid’ event. The battle between the women riders continued to the end with Toni Jardine (KTM) winning after a nail biting finish with her bike giving up on her, during the last day. She still managed a 17th place overall and won the M1.1 Class. Taye Perry from Centurion (Bert Smith All Stars Racing Powered by RAD KTM) did not give up the fight and also finished in the top 20 (19th overall) while she won the M1.2 Class. Both women recovered from a crash or two during the event and also experienced some niggling mechanical issues. Perry raced many kilometres with bent forks after a crash and experienced tyre problems on the penultimate day while Jardine’s KTM had oil problems, but they persevered to complete their first ‘rally raid’ event and are now aiming for even bigger things.