Today in motorcycle history, January 2, 2003

  Patsy Quick beomes the first ever British woman to enter the Dakar Rally.
It turns out to be a real baptism by fire for Patsy as she crashes her XR-650 hard in the desert, where she is temporarily blinded and unable to walk. Fortunately she is spotted by a media helicopter which transports her to a makeshift hospital. She is then flown to Cairo where she underwent life-saving surgery to remove her spleen.
   Despite her harrowing experience in 2003 she is desperate to compete again. She enters in 2004, one of only 2 women to enter, sadly after Day 9 she is unable to continue due to treacherous weather conditions. In the 2005 Rally her KTM has mechanical failures forcing her into early retirement. Despite all the setbacks, her strong will and determination won through and in 2006 Patsy Quick becomes the first ever British woman to finish the grueling 5,314-mile Dakar Rally.