Birch on his way to winning the 2008 Roof.

In a stunning display of Kiwi skill, Chris Birch and Rory Mead take out the top two spots of the 42rd running of the Roof Of Africa.

The 2009 edition of the Roof of Africa, well known as the "Mother of all Hard Enduro events" was won again by the Kiwi international, extreme-racing expert Chris Birch, on board his KTM 300 after times were adjusted at the end of the three day event.

The "Roof" has been run for 42 years and takes riders through terrain in the southern African country of Lesotho that demands immense physical effort and skills. This year riders also had to face extreme heat up to 42 degrees Celsius and some organizational difficulties.
 
The field had been dramatically trimmed by the end of a very tough second day. Some riders were so exhausted that they ended up staying overnight with local residents in the mountains, but organisers were able to account for them all the following morning.  It was then decided to shorten the course for the final day but this information did not reach all the teams and some of the course marshals.

                    Birch in action on day two in this years Roof.

Birch, riding a 300cc KTM, almost had drama that cost him the race. He was the first rider on the route and reached an un-manned Tjunction where he went the wrong way - opting to take the section of track that had been shortened. To rectify the problem, once he realised he was in the wrong, he rode out of the stage, returned to the start at Roma and re-started the race after discussing the problem with the organisers. He then took off like a man possessed, and managed to outride the entire field on corrected time, making it a New Zealand one-two for the 2009 Baboons Lesotho Sun Roof of Africa.
 
Meanwhile Andreas Lettenbichler, one of Birch's biggest rivals, had hit the front and established a good lead also over competitors Mead and Curtis who were behind him. Lettenbichler held onto the advantage for almost the entire last day, which proved much less demanding than the previous day, but then had to withdraw with technical problems just a few kilometres from the finish.
 
Jade Gudzeit was the first over the finish line just before Rory Mead while Birch, who had practically achieved the impossible, made up almost two hours. Times were adjusted by the organizers and Birch was declared the winner in front of Mead and Gutzeit.

Rory Mead finished second in his first ever Roof attempt.

This is by far the toughest race I have ever done,”commented New Zealand’s Rory Mead, who finished second overall in his maiden race on a 250ccYamaha.

Indicating just how exceptionally difficult the race really was, only 23 competitors of the 102 starters, doing the full event, finished the race, with a number of riders spending Friday night out in the mountains, accommodated by the local communities in their villages. “These people are fantastic. They gave us food, a place to sleep, and really took care of us, although we really struggled to communicate, but I quite enjoyed it out there,” said one of the competitors after finishing.

Chris Birch commented after the finish: “It was really tough, I am not as tired as yesterday, but I worked hard today. All I could do when I re-started was to focus and ride my absolute best, but I am very happy to take the trophy home this year.”


Results
1. Chris Birch, New Zealand, KTM
2. Rory Mead, New Zealand, Yamaha
3. Jade Gutzeit, South Africa, BM