It all started as a dream for the 900 bikers who submitted entries for the 2017 edition of Honda Quest, a true adventure contest being organised by Honda Motorcycles of Southern Africa. The dream is now becoming a reality for the 20 finalists who were chosen at the recent Boot Camp which had 40 contestants.
The aim was not only to determine who would be able to complete Honda Quest but also who could be brand ambassadors for Quest and the versatile Honda CRF1000 L Africa Twin.
Early in September, these 20 finalists will be flown to Namibia where they will embark on Quest. The event, which starts and finishes in Windhoek, promises to be the adventure of a lifetime, involving over 2,500 km of seriously challenging terrain through the Kaokoland and Damaraland, all in the space of 12 days. The participants will compete in ten teams of two riders each.
Riding skill is only one part of Quest, as participants will also be tested on their knowledge of the areas they’ll be travelling through, their ability to work in a team, their mechanical skills, as well as their psychological strength.
This is going to be a true adventure, where the winning team might not be the one with the absolute best riding skills, but the one who displays the widest range of skills necessary to justify calling themselves True Adventurers.
The 20 finalists are:
Andrew Johnstone
Andries Haasbroek
Angus Welch
Barbara Muszynski
Charl du Plessis
Christiaan Potgieter
Clinton Pienaar
Francois Ebersohn
Frederik Dreyer
Gerrit du Toit
Gerrit Visser
Glenn Koch
Grant Pentelow
Jacobus Myburgh
Johannes Haasbroek
Johannes van Heerden
Lourens van Wyk
Marcel Vladar
Pieter Lourens
Salmon Nelson