21 Feb 2017

Paving way for this year’s 1000 km desert race competitions, Team Bot50 will take part in the motor cycle race event to be held on March 10 in Malotwana.

Speaking in an interview with BOPA, the founder of Team Bot50 Tshepo Kwapa said the team will be participating in the event as a way of collecting and raising points to determine their position in the desert race.

He said the positions taken at the start of the desert race are due to the points accumulated during the events and positions they took. He also said the positions are determined by the recorded time of the participant.

Kwapa said this would not be the first time his team competed in this kind of competition as they were also a part of the desert race last year.

He also said they came up with such a name because there were preparations for Bot50 celebrations so they thought it was a good name for Batswana to also recognise and support fellow countrymen.

Furthermore he said his team is made up of four individuals, three participate in a two wheel motorbikes category and one in a quad bike category. He also said it was a good idea for a team since he has always participated in the competition on his own.

He said at times he failed to even complete some races due to injuries he sustained along the race but now he is glad to have someone complete the race if anything happens to him on the race track.

Kwapa said since Botswana Motor Sport took over from Gaborone Motor Club things have been going well for Batswana interested in the sport. He said Gaborone Motor Club was under a South African company which made things complex for Batswana at large who were interested in the sport.

He mentioned that under Botswana Motor Sport it was easy forming a team to represent the country and he is also planning on recruiting the youth especially Batswana women to empower them and boost their self-esteem.

Kwapa said he is still trying to find financial assistance from the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development to fulfil his dream of having more Batswana on the competition.

He said though he loves participating in the competitions, they are faced with many difficulties. He said it is very difficult to raise funds as some Batswana do not support them but rather opt to help more experienced people.

Kwapa said they are sometimes not selected to represent the country in other competitions worldwide but rather represented by Batswana who attained citizenship through the years. He pointed this as discouragement to them who do their best to represent the country.

Moreover Kwapa said some Batswana do not follow the rules of the game and by so doing end up being disqualified. He urged Batswana to be more careful when participating so they do not end up on the sides instead of the track field.

Kwapa said he is grateful though for the fact that the sport has since grown since its inception. He said Batswana were not represented at first but last year 20 Batswana were included in the race.

He pleaded with Batswana to help them raise funds for the competition. He said they appreciate help of any form of support from anyone including the government and private sector who are willing to assist.

Team Bot50 consists of Olefile Ruele, Julius Phometsi, and Kwapa as two wheel riders and Jabulani Johnson as a quad bike rider. BOPA