Who is Patsy Quick you ask?
In 2003 antiques dealer Patsy Quick became the first ever British woman to compete in the world famous Dakar Rally. Described by her husband and mentor as a real-life Lara Croft.

Patsy crashed heavily in the desert in 2003 where she was temporarily blinded and unable to walk. She was spotted by a media helicopter overhead who transported her to a makeshift hospital. Patsy was flown to Cairo where she underwent life-saving surgery to remove her spleen.

Desperate to compete again in 2004, Patsy was one of only two woman to enter into the rally. Sadly on day nine her attempt to continue ended when she failed to make her start time due treacherous weather conditions.

2005 saw Patsy with mechanical failures on her KTM resulting in a very disappointing early retirement.

Despite all the odds against Patsy, this amazing, motivating woman still wanted to compete in 2006. Patsy proved this at the 2006 Dakar, becoming the only British female to complete the rally.

How do you sum up Patsy and how does she fit in with our quest to reach Dakar
An unbelievable, remarkable, vivacious woman in which harbours an incredible amount of Dakar knowledge both in the practical and theoretical side of arguably the hardest race in the world. A woman that finds it hard to say “ it is not possible “ she has a drive from within that keeps her going forward. From the start to the finish Patsy is schooled in the physical training, building the bikes, ensuring the correct spares are at hand, she understands the organisation of the event, I could go on about this remarkable woman, that only a handful of men in the UK could match her for knowledge, experience and ability.

Patsy has now decided to retire from competing in the Dakar and is now putting her experience to good use with her husband Clive by starting a rally assistance team,“Team Desert Rose Racing” guiding hopefuls like ourself’s in our ultimate adventure the quest to reach Dakar, with all that help and guidance available to us we have cut the odds of not finishing by a large margin.