Demolishing the daunting Dakar

Barbier, who owns Achievers Cooling Towers, a company specialising in the servicing/refurbishment of cooling towers, based in Fairleads, is part of Team Rhide SA, a team riding to raise awareness of the ongoing rhino poaching crisis in the country.

The team consists of Brian Baragwanath, George Twigge, Wessel Bosman (who rode under the Lesotho flag) and Barbier. Baragwanath is the ambassador for Rhino SA and “The Green Wall of Africa” and is also the owner of BB Motorsport, based in Pretoria.

He rode a brilliant Dakar and finished in third place overall.

Team Rhide SA was born about three years ago, when Barbier approached Baragwanath in a bid to form a team to take to the Dakar in 2015.

“We were out at a motocross track and I asked him: ‘When are we going to do the Dakar?’ and that’s how it all started,” he told the City Times from his Fairleads home.

“It’s something I never expected; it sort of crept up on me.”

Although Baragwanath made the cut for Dakar 2015, Barbier was, unfortunately, not selected, as he did not have enough race experience, according to the selectors.

He worked immensely hard throughout 2015 to obtain the necessary race experience, by competing in the national championships, Gauteng Off-road Championships and the FIM Africa Cross-Country of African Nations in Kenya (which he won, thus securing his entry into the Dakar 2016).

The Dakar trip was never going to be easy.

“It took two years of training, going to the gym five times a week and cycling every day,” he said.

“We also did not have the budgets that the top teams have and everything we did was in Rand.

“You need to get your bike there, too, and that is expensive.”

Barbier had some serious struggles with his fuel management system, fuel pump and numerous punctures along the way.

The 14-day rally was no walk in the park either, and a lack of sleep, intense heat and harsh conditions were major challenges for the local rider.

“My goal was always to finish and, at the end of it to feel good, and I succeeded in that,” he explained.

“Mentally I was always strong, although it was tough physically in the desert stages, when I was stuck in the sand for six and a half hours, on Day 10.

“That was the only time that I felt I was taking severe strain.

“I was not in good shape then, but it was never an option to quit.”

The South African teams were always going to have their backs against the wall in contrast to the overseas competitors, in what Barbier describes as a “budget versus luxury Dakar”.

“The top riders did not experience the same Dakar as me.

“The reason is that they start earlier in the morning and ride in the cool of the day, while the further back you are the more you are living the ‘extreme’ Dakar and riding in the heat.

“When you are riding in the desert the first riders drive on the hard sand and break the crust, so by the time I had come through the trucks, cars, everything had been through, creating this fine and horrible sand to drive through.”

When asked why he took on the daunting challenge, Barbier said: “I believe in life you need to do a couple of tough things to prove to yourself that you still have the ability and character, because when life gets too easy you tend to forget how hard you had to push to get things to where they are.”

Something else that makes the Dakar Rally truly epic is the incredible fanfare that the locals show to the riders.

By simply participating in the rally the competitors are viewed as celebrities in the countries through which they pass.

“I had been riding and it had been raining, and I did not have my raincoat with me.

“I stopped and this old man gave me his raincoat; An Argentinian guy, who I have since found out is a retired railway worker,” said Barbier.

A video was taken of the incident and was even shown on country’s national news.

“On the  last day, Brian and I were riding together, we went past an old man who was gesturing to us.

“I looked back and this old man was running like a 16-year-old; He got to us and then I recognised him, it was the guy who had given me his raincoat.

“I signed his shirt and said thank you.

“That was emotional for me, it impacted me a lot and impacted him as well.

“The people of Argentina and Bolivia just opened to Dakar in an unbelievable way.”

This video has had over 800 000 views on Facebook: 

He praised his technicians and management for the incredible work they put in over the 14 days and thanked his family for their undying support.

Barbier said he will definitely take on the rally again, as the bug has bitten.

For more information on the team visit www.teamrhidesa.com or www.facebook.com/TeamRhideSA.