Watching the Dakar on TV may look like it’s ‘not that bad’ but the reality is that it is hellishly tough.
And the 2023 edition was up there with the toughest ever, arguably.
Port Edward macadamia nut farmer Stuart Gregory (45) was again in the mix, his fourth Dakar.
Stuart ended the race 61st overall. He was ninth in the Original Class (previously known as malle moto, unassisted) by Motul and third in the veteran class.
It’s his third finish in a row, with his first seeing him get to the penultimate stage before having to quit, much to his bitter disappointment.
Despite vowing at the time never to return, he has done so three times now and finished well.
“Super, super tough. Toughest one yet. Even the pros said how tough it was, everyone suffered. Really chuffed to get to the end,” said Stuart.
“The race this year was extremely difficult, almost twice the distance of last year. The rain and cold temperatures made it even harder,” he said.
It didn’t help that Stuart came down with a bout of flu during the race. Still, he refused to quit. By the end of the two weeks’ racing across dune and wadi, in what some called nigh impossible conditions, Stuart had lost about 10kg, maybe more. “Burned up 65 000 calories,” he said.
However, those who enter this famous endurance race expect nothing less than trying times, perhaps they even encourage it – that’s what extreme sports are all about.
There were moments of enjoyment. “The dunes were great, especially when they were wet,” he said.
He reckoned the most nerve-wracking part of the event was riding in extreme traffic, in the dark, with 80% tint goggles.
“That’s the scariest thing I’ve done in my life, people in Saudi Arabia drive way worse than people in South Africa,” he said with a wry smile.
It wasn’t all hardship and toil, though.
He enjoyed dinner every evening with the South African contingent and Ross Branch.
“That was a lot of fun and there was great banter.”
Will he be going again?
“I always say never again, but you know… but I would really like to have a race with a team to focus on a good result and not worry about the bike and place to sleep.”
He had a few thanks to some who helped make the trip possible: Ride KTM Durban, Fox, Mira Clothing, Farmers Agri Care, Cti knee braces and Landini.
“If I can find enough sponsors I’d like to go back, but it gets tougher every year. The hardest part of Dakar is getting to the start line.”
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