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Berra's Dakar adventure
One of the toughest races in the world!
Öken (desert)- Berra, Bertil “Berra" Marcusson is as tough as a Gotlandic juniper and has an endurance that nearly surpasses the seastacks on Gotland’s shoreline. His career ranges from working as a hired farmhand to project manager for international power station construction. As an amateur he has taken part in the Paris-Dakar desert motor rally and after completing the races has become internationally famous for his stubbornness and determination.
Many of us have a dream. Berra Marcusson is one of the few who have won highest prize; a chance to realise that dream. By being in the right place at the right time Berra Marcusson received an offer to make the impossible possible: with less than a year left until the start, to ride a motorcycle in the Paris-Dakar rally.
The Paris-Dakar rally involves more than 10,000 km of terrain driving, mainly over endless desert plains day after day for nearly three weeks. Behind this there lie thousands of hours of preparation where the professional teams utilise organisations with hundreds of people.
Berra started his project on his own. With purposeful planning, a great respect for the knowledge of others, humility and an indisputable determination to reach the goal he started out from a wintery Visby. Five days later, on New Year’s Eve 2004, Berra was in France ready to start the race.
The 2004 Dakar rally became a nightmare for many. More than half the participants were forced to give up after half the rally. As early as the third day problems began to mount up for Berra, which, among other things, meant 36 hours of uninterrupted riding! There were many doubts - but Berra had made up his mind: nothing was going to keep him from reaching the finish. January 17, 2004 at 12:34 p.m. Berra stepped up onto the goal platform.
In 2005, in spite of his promise to "never again take part", it was time again. With lots of experience from the previous rally Berra repeats his feat. In order to be able to participate in the MC-fair in Gothenburg 10 days after Dakar, Berra decides turn around and ride the 9000 km home again directly after crossing the finish line, thus marketing his newly started company with spectacular style. That trip turned out to be a little “hotter" than planned...
Before the Dakar rally in 2006 Berra pondered over how he could give himself a new challenge. Since his experience of driving a truck was limited to a few private trips with a motorhome, he got the brilliant idea of driving a service truck. This would be completely different way to experience the Dakar rally. Berra practiced driving a truck in the gravel pits on Gotland. This rally tested not only his driving skills but also his aptitude for planning, logistics and flexibility. As well as the art of communicating in French since his only company in the cab were French-speaking mechanics.
