Motorsport

Ingo Waldschmidt finished 50th on Stage 13 of the Dakar Rally to move up to 44th place overall.

Here follows a report by his wife Lisa:

Whew ok.. 1 day left and so far ....so good----Buuuut –it aint over till the bald guy sings .... and calls home.

Remember his accident on the last day - in his 1st Dakar....until he is over that line - THEN the race has ended.
 

Ingo Waldschmidt finished 45th on Stage 12 of the Dakar Rally to move to 46th position overall. He is also lying second in the marathon category for riders using just one engine.

Ingo’s wife Lisa reports on the day’s proceedings:

Hi all
 
Did anyone watch on TV last night .. mmmm or was it the night b4- how they explained the tracking system? Soooo wish they would have shown that, in the beginning of the race. If i had known that it updates it’s self every 5min.. i would have been a bit kinder to my keyboards refresh and enter buttons.
 

After his fantastic performance when he finished 14th overall on Stage 8 of the Dakar Rally, Ingo Waldschmidt dropped down the field to finish 71st on Stage 9, while maintaining his overall position of 50th.

Here follows a report from his wife Lisa:

Man what a long day....
 
Ingo started off in 15th position.. with 140  riders with him, meaning 43 bikers have fallen out of the race as we head into the second half of it.

He is standing at 50th overall at this stage. I was really hoping, his amazing finish on Saturday would have improved his overall ranking.

Ingo Waldschmidt gave a brilliant performance to finish 14th on Stage 8 of the Dakar Rally on Saturday, while he moved up to 50th overall in the motorbike category.

Waldschmidt had been averaging in the 50‘s up till then, but on Saturday, some great riding and a bit of luck saw him shooting up the field.

According to his wife Lisa, she could not believe the result when she first heard it. Lisa was busy entertaining some friends with her annual ‘Dakar Halfway Party’ at home in Windhoek when she received an sms saying that Ingo came 14th.

The annual prize giving ceremony of the Namibian Enduro Club took place on Saturday 24 November.

With the eight races in the Bank Windhoek Enduro Series completed a few weeks ago, it was time to give recognition to participants, sponsors and officials for all the hard work during the 2012 season.

Current chairman of the club, Andreas Brendel, thanked all the participants and supporters who have invested a lot to grow the sport.

Willie Dames of Namibia and his South African navigator Armand du Toit won the 2012 Total Tara Rally in a Volkswagen Polo on Saturday.

The rally once again lived up to its name as one of the toughest in Africa as only nine competitors from the 24 who started on Thursday managed to complete the rally.

After three days of gruelling riding in Windhoek, Okahandja, Wilhelmstal and Otjimbingwe, Dames and Du Toit completed the 26 special stages in a combined time of 2:59:49.

The highlight on the Namibian motor sport calendar, the Total Tara Rally takes place for the 44th consecutive year this weekend.

The drivers will complete a total of 718km, of which 263km will be made up of 26 special stages.

The rally starts at SKW in Olympia, Windhoek on Thursday evening and will continue on Friday and Saturday around Windhoek, Okahandja and Otjimbingwe.

The eighth and final round of the Bank Windhoek Namibian National Enduro Series, co-sponsored by Waldschmidt Eggs, was recently held in the Okahandja district.

A total of 67 riders lined up to take on the sand, rocks and obstacles the organisers had included in the race. With this last race for the 2012 season there were some riders that needed the finish to wrap up the championship.

The 2012 Total Tara Rally was launched in Windhoek on Wednesday, 3 October 2012. It is the 44th consecutive year that Total is hosting this popular event and it once again promises to entertain many rally enthusiasts.

“It is the toughest event on the Namibian international calendar,” said Sanet Mohrmann, Key Accounts Manager of Total Namibia. Rally competitors will complete 266km in stages and the total distance is 715km.

The event will take place from Thursday, 15 November to Saturday, 17 November 2012 starting with four stages in and around Windhoek at 19:45 on the Thursday.

A total of 71 participants competed in the seventh round of the Bank Windhoek Namibian National Enduro Series co-sponsored by AB Construction, CRP Construction and Namibia Technical Services at Uis over the past weekend.

“With the end of the season approaching it is very encouraging to see this kind of attendance as the financial cost of taking part in the series can take its toll on many riders”, said Riaan van Rooyen, Head of Corporate Communication and Social Investment at Bank Windhoek.