A set of teenage twins will today tackle the challenging terrain of the Kalahari desert as they fulfill their long held dreams of competing in the high stakes Toyota 1000 Desert race that will be held in Jwaneng this weekend.
This will be the first competitive challenge for Tadiwa and Tabona Tafa who have always been spectators at this popular event in the past years.
Although as a boy and a girl their stories and career paths are different- Tadiwa being a second year Degree in Business Information student at University of Botswana while her brother doing A-levels, when it comes to motorsport their interests have always converged, with their father and biggest fan- Tafa Tafa, motivating them to competitively participate in the sport.
The duo have been competing in other local competitions and have represented the country in some races in Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Africa where they won medals and trophies.
Speaking to Voice Sport, a confident Tadiwa said she has always wanted to represent Botswana in this competition but felt she was not ready.
She is aware of the high expectations from her fans but says she does not want to put herself under any pressure and that she will just enjoy her race.
“My aim is to complete the race in one piece. I just want to have the feeling and experience of what this competition is like. I have been a spectator for many years and this time my fans will be watching me on the track. I started this sport with my brother at the farm near Jwaneng with our dad’s two wheel bike. I have to prepare myself mentally for his race because physically I’m okay. We ride bikes almost every weekend and I am physically fit,” said Tadiwa
For his part, Tabona said the good thing is he started riding in Jwaneng and he will be using the same terrain for Mantshwabisi. He said as part of his preparations, he did a 1000km challenge which he completed successfully. Tabona said he also once in a while plays basketball with his friends to test his level of fitness. “The 1000km will be by far the hardest I will be riding because I normally do 200km. I am looking forward to it and excited finally to be one of the participants,” he added,
