From the 17th to the 19th of August the Motocross Africa Championships 2007 will be hosted in the vicinity of Kenya’s capital Nairobi.

Planning by the Namibians started early this season already but by March it was clear that the costs for the Namibian national team would be too high. As often before, the endeavour failed due to the costs for the transportation of the bikes. Unfortunately the invitation had to be turned down.

Last week the Windhoek Moto Cross Club – the highest authority in Namibian MX-sport – received a message which stated that great value is placed on the participation of a Namibian-Team and the EAMSC (East African Motor Sports Club) is prepared to provide bikes for the junior classes. Now, excited planning kicked in and costs were re-evaluated. Five days later it was clear: Namibia will take part!

The following riders will represent Namibia in this important race:

Tobie Barlow is team-captain and Eric Garbers Sen. functions as coach. Thorsten Sternagel and Paul Loots will demonstrate their abilities as mechanics. Since the riders are not fully informed about the condition of the bikes, they will carry along their own motors as well as suspension-elements. As the maximum amount of luggage allowed comprises of 20 kg, clothing will have to be reduced dramatically, dear mothers!

Despite the generous allocation of bikes for which the WMCC is very grateful, the costs are still extremely high for our Namibian riders. The family Loots for example has to spend an amount of N.000 (Fifty Thousand N$) for two grown-ups and two MX-riding sons. Michael Nederlof, as the Namibian AMU-representative hopes that the Namibian Sports Council and the NMSF (Namibian Motor Sports Federation) will support this endeavour with a generous amount of money. The local industry is called upon as well to support this trip to Kenia.

The following countries have confirmed their participation: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Saudi-Arabia, Tunisia, Marocco, Namibia, and the host Kenia.