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Ronald Mashinga, Sports Reporter

ZAPALALA Supermarket is set to sponsor Zimbabwean off-road motorcycle racer Graeme Sharp at the gruelling Dakar Rally to be staged in Saudi Arabia next month.

Sharp and the chief executive officer of Zapalala Supermarket Lloyd Turner were school mates at Falcon College.

“The CEO, Lloyd and I went to Falcon College together, and sport has always been a big part of his life. Now he is an incredible sports sponsor in Zimbabwe, and has helped Matabeleland Junior Swimming, Men’s National Hockey, Whitestone Cricket, Matabeleland Tennis and the Binga Pirates Football Club,” Sharp said.

Zapalala Supermarket sponsored this year’s edition of the Tomasik Junior Tennis Tournament at Emakhandeni Tennis club a few weeks ago.

Autoworld Zimbabwe, TrenTyre Zimbabwe, One Stop Solar, Alveo Water and Blue Steels are some of Sharp’s sponsors.

As part of the preparations for “My Dakar Safari”, he took part in the Rallye Du Maroc held in Morocco in October, where he finished in 35th place. The Rallye Du Maroc is considered one of the most challenging and toughest circuits in the global rallying calendar because of its terrain.

Sharp has been training and addressing a few performance deficits from the Rallye Du Maroc. The training regime will look at core control, lower body endurance and postural efficiency, which refers to the ability to maintain body balance.

He will compete with over 170 bikers across 60 countries next month and has been given number 142. He wants to make history by becoming the first Zimbabwean rider to finish the Dakar Rally.