Rider Profile

Tom Classen started racing off road motorcycles in 1990 when he was 26 and has numerous class wins to his credit in the legendary Roof of Africa Rally in the kingdom of Lesotho. 

He was national senior off road enduro motorcycle champion in 2003 and the same year was the 250 class winner in the AMU Baja in Kenya.

He was president of Motorsport South Africa’s Off Road Motorcycle Commission from 2000 to 2005 and was awarded national Protea colours for motor sport in 2005.

The 43-year-old owner of a plumbing company in Edenvale, Gauteng has competed twice in the motorcycle section of the Dakar Rally on a privately-entered KTM, “limping home” 77th in 2006 and finishing an excellent 18th in 2007 (the highest a South African has ever finished with the exception of Alfie Cox, whose best was second in 2002).

A former national senior off road enduro motorcycle champion with numerous class wins on the legendary Roof of Africa Rally, Classen will be tackling his third Dakar on a KTM motorcycle.

He tackles the 2008 edition of the world’s toughest off road race as a privateer on a brand new KTM 690 Rallye and will receive technical support from Dakar specialists Rally Raid UK.