Antique shop owner set for rally

Patsy Quick was one of only two women riders in last year's rally

A Sussex antique shop owner who has become one of the UK's top female motorcyclists is to take part in the Dakar rally for the third time.

Patsy Quick, 38, from Heathfield, East Sussex, is due to be among the field when the tough race starts on Friday.

In the past two years her attempts have ended with a major crash and by missing the start time for a race stage.

This year's race starts in the Spanish city of Barcelona, finishing in Dakar, the capital of Senegal on 16 January.

Ruptured spleen

Mrs Quick first competed in the rally, considered one of motor sport's most gruelling events in 2003, becoming the first British woman to take part.

Her race came to an end in a crash in which she fell on her bike down a huge sand dune, rupturing her spleen.

Patsy Quick can usually be found working in her Sussex antique shop

She made a second attempt at the Dakar rally last winter when she was disqualified for missing her start time on a stage of the race after falling behind schedule and spending two nights sleeping rough in the sands of the Sahara Desert.

She told the BBC: "I'm a 38-year-old woman, what the hell am I doing out here?"

Mrs Quick has run an antiques shop in Heathfield with her husband for eight years and many locals visit the shop during races to check on her progress.

After training throughout the year, fundraising and competing in other events as preparation, she will be taking part for the third time in the 2005 race, as part of Team Desert Rose.

This year's event runs from Barcelona to Dakar via Morocco, Mauritania and Mali.