Podium success at Roof of Africa for Team BMW Husqvarna Motorsport
Two Team BMW Husqvarna Motorsport riders are celebrating great results in
this year’s infamously gruelling Roof of Africa hard enduro event. The 42nd
annual race, through the bone-jarring terrain of the mountainous Kingdom of
Lesotho, saw Andreas ‘Letti’ Lettenbichler take a podium place on a WR300 Husqvarna
machine, while Husky riding team-mate Simo Kirssi had been running as high
as fifth, before running out of fuel just two kilometres from the end. The
talented Finn eventually finished in 12th place, while veteran rider Gerhard
Forster – the oldest competitor in the event at 43 – finished in 23rd on a
BMW G 450 X.
More than 300 international riders lined up at the start of the three-day
Roof of Africa event on November 25. For Letti in particular, failure was not
an option after a punctured engine casing forced him to retire early following
a great start in the 2009 event. However, it seemed disaster might be about
to strike twice when he took a wrong turn on day two and spent more than 30
wasted minutes getting back on course. But he used all his skill and energy
to claw his way back into third and take a Gold medal, despite being totally
exhausted by the time he crossed the finish line. "I wanted too much and
lost concentration for a moment," Letti explained. “But it was still a
happy outcome.”
Kirssi meanwhile was riding in the Roof of Africa for the first time, making
his 12th place success even more remarkable. Despite modestly saying before
the enduro event that he was “not a favourite,” the Finn left many more seasoned
competitors in his wake. At the end of the first day, he was in seventh place,
and, by day three, was ready to take fifth place, when bad luck struck. Kirssi
ran out of gas just two kilometres from the final fuel stop and was forced
to wait until a fair-minded rival stopped to help. The delay cost him dearly,
resulting in him taking 12th place overall. And while many would have been
delighted just to have finished the Roof, the current German and European Cross
Country Champion was clearly disappointed, saying: "What can you do, that’s
racing."
The tough event not only tested the endurance of competitors, but their mental
fitness too and only 22 riders managed to score gold when they completed the
full race distance within the prescribed time over three days.
Forster, the sole BMW-rider in the competition, also performed extremely well
throughout the notorious endurance tests. He was sitting in 16th at the end
of day one, pushed up to 12th by the close of day two, although problems with
his chain and chain-guide on the final day meant that he couldn’t finish within
the designated time, so he ended in 23rd position after 20 hours of riding,
and collected a Silver medal for his considerable efforts.
“I didn’t quite make it across the finish line because I had a few problems
on the final pass, called the ‘Please Push Me’ pass, where my chain snapped.
It was a bit frustrating because I had been going reasonably well up to that
point. The best bit of the race was the second day, when everything went really
well. I think, had rocks not damaged the chain guide, I would have got the
same time as the winner. I had no problems at all with the BMW bike, apart
from the chain jumping off because of the broken guide – otherwise, it was
superb. After the race, I immediately thought ‘no, I’m not going to do this
again next year, but now, I’m already reconsidering’!”
The race encompasses some of the most challenging conditions in the world
and heavy rain had made the route even more treacherous. Altitudes ranged from
1,500 to 3,500 metres and riders had to battle sheer climbs, running river
beds, and donkey trails. Skill, ability and the endurance capabilities of the
machines themselves were all pushed to the absolute limit and the achievements
of Letti, Kirssi and Forster are testament to their significant talents as
well as the reliability of their motorcycles.