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TORONTO. Thursday, December 18, 2007.
On the eve of his new book release, Lawrence Hacking will be heading back to the world’s most grueling off-road rally. But this time he will observe the Dakar from the sidelines. Hacking, the first Canadian ever to finish the Dakar Rally in 2001, is an accomplished motorcycle racer, journalist and author. He has one of the most varied, interesting and highlighted careers in Canadian off-road racing circles. Known as Canada’s “off-road ambassador,” the 53-year-old plans to compete in the Dakar again, “This is an information gathering trip for a future attempt. I’m going to rent a car and follow the race from Lisbon.”
Hacking’s Paris to Dakar experience is the subject of a new book called, To Dakar and Back: 21 Day Across North Africa by Motorcycle, to be released in February. Co-written with motorsport journalist Wil De Clercq, the book relates the unparalleled human drama that unfolds at the Dakar, “The rally challenges one’s character more than anything else. It tests and evaluates who you are as a person,” says Hacking, and he adds, “What the Dakar requires most is the acceptance that the ‘buck stops at you,’ there are no valid excuses for non-performance. One must accept responsibility for one’s actions, period."
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