Forster up on the Roof of Africa

One of the most gruelling off-road events in the world, the 2008 Roof of Africa Rally, kicks off this weekend and BMW Motorrad's 'extreme' enduro specialist Gerhard Forster will be among the starting line-up at Maseru in Lesotho. A large contingent of European riders on a wide variety of machines will be joining the event and taking on the South African competitors who will be out there to prove their skill and raw talent against all the international riders.

BMW Motorrad's 'extreme' enduro specialist Gerhard Forster

The Kingdom of Lesotho is in the heartland of the Maluti Mountains, adjacent to the South African Drakensberg mountain range. Those international riders travelling to the Roof of Africa for the first time will find a landlocked country and enclave, entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is the highest country in southern Africa, with regular snowfalls and extremely cold winter conditions. In the central countryside, high up in the mountains, the country is desolate, and locals have to travel long distances on horseback to reach civilization, and food supplies. Access in many areas is limited to very rough and rocky gravel roads, often washed out by rain and storm water – all perfect conditions for holding an extreme enduro race of course!

Participants on the Roof of Africa will encounter plenty of rough and rocky gravel roads, often washed out by rain and storm water

In this barren mountain country, the Roof of Africa will test competitors and their motorcycles for the 41st time, across gravel tracks, mountain passes and flat grass lands over three days of racing. It will be Gerhard Forster's second time competing in the Roof of Africa. In 2004, he finished in fourth place and is keen to make a similar impression in this year's rally.

"My last experience at the Roof made me want to come back for more," said Gerhard. "The riding area is very beautiful and challenging, and it is a unique race. The very long rocky uphills are quite different to the hills in Romania and Erzberg – some of them can take upwards of one-and-a-half hours to complete – plus in addition there are great differences in altitude throughout the race. At times, you're riding deep into a valley and soon after climbing up to the top of a mountain at around 3,000 metres height."

Gerhard is used to tough riding conditions, such as those found at the Red Bull Romaniacs

Gerhard has been staying in Amanzimtoti (near Durban) for a week before the race to acclimatize to the South African conditions. He has been riding trials and enduro bikes everyday and at the actual race he will have the support of a few friends who will be working as technicians and taking care of transport and logistics.

So far, Forster has had a fantastic year riding the BMW G 450 X. He finished in a respectable seventh place at this year's Erzberg Hare Scramble in Austria in May and then followed this up with a fantastic runner-up spot at the Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro in September. Due to the difficulty factor of the Roof of Africa, many competitors leave their bigger bikes at home and attempt this race with 200cc or 250cc machines that are lighter and much easier to handle in the difficult sections. Not so for Forster, as the 41-year-old will attempt the three-day rally on BMW Motorrad's factory 450cc sport enduro.

"I'm well prepared for this rally, as I have competed in several major races this year, such as Erzberg and Romaniacs, plus some other events. To keep myself fit, I've been going to spinning classes and doing plenty of jogging, plus riding a trials bike. The Roof is a very technical race, with big, never-ending loose rocks, deep river crossings, and sometimes tricky navigational sections. The G 450 X may be a little heavy for the Roof, but it does have a light feel. This bike has the best traction with the fuel tank down low and the air filter up high for deep river crossings. The fuel injection system means that irrespective of the altitude you always have good tuning and performance."

The 'Roof' starts with the traditional 'Round the Houses' event, where competitors challenge each other in a circuit street race

This year's Roof of Africa will start off with the traditional 'Round the Houses' event in the heart of Lesotho's capital Maseru, where competitors will find themselves sliding around tight tarmac road bends in a circuit street race, in order to determine the starting positions for the time-trial. This time-trial completes the first day's racing and consists of a relatively short stage of around 75 kilometers, which gives a feel of what lies ahead – not only do competitors very quickly come to realize the difficulty, but also the intensity of the Roof of Africa.

The next two days are designed to separate the committed racers from the hobby riders. With an average distance of around 250 to 300km covered per day, competitors are confronted with every type of terrain and difficulty factor that Lesotho has to offer. Gravel roads lead into narrow footpaths, across riverbeds and into treacherous rocky mountain passes. Many of the competitors are taken aback by the amazing scenery and exceptional landscapes of this mountain country, but Forster has seen it all before, so will be concentrating all his efforts on making it to the finish of the race on 29 November.

More information on this year's rally can be viewed (in English and German) by visiting the www.roof-of-africa.com website.