14 Jun 2016

The mining town of Jwaneng was on Saturday abuzz with activity during the mall activation as the 2016 Toyota 1000km Desert Race gains momentum. The mall activation was intended to create the hype for the annual event, which is scheduled for June 24-26. 

It brought together different stakeholders such as the Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO), Jwaneng Town Council, Department of Road Transport and Safety and District Health Management Team, among others. 

In an interview on the sidelines of the mall activation, the publicity officer of the 2016 Toyota 1000 Desert Race, Bonakele Nyoni said since there were only two weeks left to the race, they saw it fit to organise a mall activation to create hype so that people may appreciate the race and get ready for it.

He further said  the mall activation was not only about the race, but also to inform people about important aspects such as spectator points as well as give them a platform to seek clarity on any issues regarding the race.

The BTO marketing officer, Clement Nsala said the 1000km Desert Race was a flagship motor sport event in Botswana which has been taking place annually. 

He also said they had been in partnership with the race organisers to try to promote and develop it from where it is.

Nsala mentioned that this year’s theme is “Don’t Spoil It” and it was a safety campaign so that spectators would preserve the event and enjoy it without any unacceptable behaviours and occurrence of accidents that would ruin the good mood of the race.

He said the event would start with time trials on June 24, and proceed with the actual race the next two days.

“So far everything is going according to plan and I won’t hesitate to say that we are ready for our racers and spectators,” he said.

Nsala said they were having activations all over the country in places such as  Maun, Kasane, Francistown, Selibe Phikwe, Palapye, Ghanzi and Jwaneng. He said there were also other teams in Rustenburg, Mafikeng and Vryburg. 

He said the response towards the race has been epic and followership was growing internationally and South African market adding that they has been interest in Lesotho as well.

He said registration is still on and they had no numbers yet as to how many participants would take part. ENDS