Jawa, not to be confused with the little scavengers on Tatooine, doesn’t have much of a track record in rally raids but it is a pioneer. In 1988, Pavel Ort became the first Czech rider to compete in the Paris–Dakar Rally when he signed up on a Jawa 560. That was also the only time a Jawa entered the Dakar, but the homegrown milestone alone earns it a fond place in Czech rally history.

Ort’s Jawa 560 will be on display this weekend in at the annual Škoda and LIAZ truck meeting in Mnichovo Hradiště. A documentary about LIAZ’s Dakar efforts will be screened, while the original LIAZ rally trucks are also to be exhibited.

The bike recently fired up its engine for the first time in nearly 25 years to prepare for the event.

Besides being the first rider of Czech origin to race Dakar, Ort was the only one to do so during the country’s existence as Czechoslovakia. He was supposed to take part in 1987 but delayed it a year as he couldn’t find a suitable bike.

Fortunately, the Jawa he got was more than battle-tested. The bike was previously ridden by Josef Chovančík to the 1986 Enduro European Championship in 500cc, the Slovak’s second title after previously winning in 1980.

Unfortunately, Dakar didn’t quite end well for Ort. It began on a strong note as he finished 19th overall for the Prologue, only to crash 350 kilometers before the Stage 4 finish in Tamanrasset and break four of his ribs. He managed to complete the stage in 23rd, but the pain was too unbearable and he bowed out.

Officially the Jawa 560 Type 671-1-86, the motorcycle features a four-stroke air-cooled single-cylinder Rotax engine. Jan Králík, a Czechoslovak journalist covering the race, called Ort a “motorcycling Don Quixote who did everything himself”. Besides showing up on a bike that nobody used, he relied on spare parts from the Tatra shop.

Ort passed away on March 8, 2011.

Featured image credit: Jaroslav Joklík