Roberts has his focus on 2015 Dakar

RUAN Roberts (22) has his eye on the 2015 Dakar Rally. The young off-road motorcycle competitor from Springs on the East Rand won the Dakar Challenge last year at the Botswana Desert Race, but could not participate this year. He finished as the runner-up in the 2013 National Off-road Motorcycle Championship and will again be participating in various motorcycle championships this season.

The machine of choice for Roberts, businessman and privateer competitor, will be his new 2014 model Yamaha YZ450F, the same bike he will be using in the National Off-road Championship as well as the Liquorland National Enduro Motorcycle Championship and the National Motocross Championship.

Although the 2015 Dakar Rally is his ultimate goal, Roberts is again aiming for the Number One plate in the National Off-road Championship. During the 2013 season, he claimed victory after two of the seven events, including winning the 500 kilometre event in Botswana that formed the third round of the championship. He finished on the podium three more times during the season and was in a tight battle for the title with Kenneth Gilbert. Roberts unfortunately fell ill during the race due to something being wrong with his food and he had to settle for the second place overall as well as in the OR1 (Open Class) Championship.

Competing in the Dakar Rally has been a childhood dream of Ruan who still has to acquire sponsorships for this gruelling race while he would like to achieve his racing goals before taking on the two-week race in South America. Roberts, who received his Protea Colours in 2008, would like to add another title to his 2007 Junior National Championship title.

Roberts has competed in the World Enduro Championship in 2008 and 2012, while he also competed in the Spanish National Enduro Championship during 2012. This experience will come in handy and he plans to compete in the full Liquorland National Enduro Championship to gain more experience.

Ruan competed in the opening round of the National Motocross Championship at the Terra Topia track in Johannesburg this past weekend, and although he admits that he still has to learn a lot, he uses these races to gain more experience. This was his first motocross attempt.

Between work – Roberts is involved in his father’s business, JCP Steel Supplies that distributes Colorlume, Chromadek, galvanised and Zincalume to the rainwater, refrigeration, signage and other industries – and training, Ruan also follows a daily training program targeted at improving strength and endurance. After the motocross event, Ruan will start defending his 2013 GOC title and will compete in the GOC FarmJam 200 off-road race outside Middelburg (Mpumalanga). He will then travel to the Champagne Valley area for the opening round of the Liquorland National Enduro Championship that will take place on February 22 at Four Rivers Adventures in the Winterton area in KwaZulu-Natal.