Bethany Hamilton to drive in Moroccan rally

SHARK victim Bethany Hamilton will leave the Australian coast behind and head for the desert next month, putting her surfing career on hold to race over sand dunes in a Moroccan rally.

The one-armed surfer, the victim of a shark attack in Hawaii when just 13, cruised through the second round of the Hunter Ports at Newcastle before revealing her plans to join 150 teams of women in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles in Morocco.

Hamilton, who has travelled from her home in Hawaii to compete in early season surfing events, will next month be one of five US teams competing in the nine-day off-road racing event touted as the toughest all-female sporting event on the planet.

“I can’t wait. It’s going to be really exciting,” Hamilton said from Newcastle.

“It’s a new adventure, which is something I really like.”

Hamilton said she still has aspirations of competing on the women’s World Tour but is keen to embrace opportunities that have arisen in the wake of the release of Soul Surfer, the movie of the shark attack and her determination to surf again after losing her left arm.

Hamilton advanced into the third round of the tournament at Newcastle, which will see Australian world champions Stephanie Gilmore and Joel Parkinson compete in their first major event of the year.

Gilmore is scheduled to surf her first round of the event this morning at Newcastle with Parkinson slated to make his first appearance tomorrow.

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