NAMIBIA’S ace motorcyclist Ingo Waldschmidt made history by finishing the 2009 Dakar Rally in a fantastic 52nd position overall after his first attempt in the 30-year history of the race.
The Namibian ended the 14th stage of the gruelling race, which was held between Argentina and Chile this year, in 111th position, but achieved a great feat by being among the riders who finished.
Waldschmidt was due to take part last year, but that race was cancelled because of war on the African continent and was this year shifted to the Americas.
Riding on a KTM, Waldschmidt started the race with 230 other bikers and remained on course until the end, which only saw 113 crossing the finishing line in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Other riders were either disqualified or fell out of the race due to mechanical problems, while one was reported to have died.
The Namibian survived the torrid conditions and even managed to beat some of the top-ranked off-road riders in the world by ending in the top 60 bracket.
South Africa’s Giniel De Villiers, rally driver and fine wine connoisseur, was the toast of the world’s most gruelling race on Saturday after winning the 2009 title.
The 36-year-old from Stellenbosch, 50 km from Cape Town and at the centre of the country’s wine-producing region, became the first African to win the event.
He was second in 2006 while in 2007 he dominated before his Volkswagen Touareg slipped back to 11th place.
He thrived in the testing South American conditions while his closest rivals slipped up.
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