29 Apr 2019

The Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race, which will be hosted by Selebi Phikwe Town Council (SPTC) for the first time, will announce the race route next month.

The race, scheduled for June 21 to 23, will start from Sam Sono Stadium in Selebi Phikwe and cover the northern, south western and eastern blocks, areas under the jurisdiction of Bobirwa and Palapye administrative authorities.

Briefing the SPTC special full council meeting on April 26, Botswana Tourism Organisation’s (BTO) tourism development manager, Keotshepile Mphusu said Selebi Phikwe was granted the rights to hold the event for the next three years.

He said BTO and other stakeholders were working round the clock to map the route for the race, adding that the final route, which would be developed around the project area, would be announced in May.

The race is expected to start with a pre-qualification race on June 21 that will determine the starting line for the following day.

Mphusu said vehicles would cover the first 500km on Saturday and continue with the last 500km on Sunday after a night’s stopover at a designated point along the route.

The last lap of the race will be on June 23 at the Sam Sono Stadium.

Mphusu informed councillors that the race was expected to market the SPEDU region which suffered a serious blow following the BCL mine closure.

He said hospitality, transport, retail, food outlets, fuel stations and street vendors were expected to benefit.

Regarding the hospitality sector, Mphusu informed the council that all hotels in Selebi Phikwe and the periphery had confirmed their bookings and were already fully booked.

He said some had booked as far as Palapye, Mmadinare, Bobonong and Francistown.

He said Selebi Phikwe’s show grounds and Makhubu area would be used for camping and a music festival respectively.

Mphusu appealed to councillors to support the race for it to be a success.

“We are counting on you and the community to give us support to make this event a success,” he said.

Councillors expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far.

They said they felt honoured to host such a big event after Jwaneng and pledged their support.

They requested the council to also prepare and ensure that the Selebi Phikwe community benefitted from the race.

Equally important they said was the support of other stakeholders. ENDS