BONUS - RUSTENBURG - South African competitors and vehicle manufacturers participating in the 2024 Dakar Rally from 5 to 19 January in Saudi Arabia, showed why they can compete with the best in the world as they earned and bagged numerous accolades and awards after two formidable weeks and 4 700 kilometres of timed racing from the ancient city of AlUla to the shores of the Red Sea, conquering the daunting dunes of the Empty Quarter.
The 46th edition of the world’s toughest rally-raid race that spanned almost 8 000 kilometres, was won by the Spaniard duo of Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz in the hybrid Audi with Sainz (61) winning the event for the fourth time, albeit not winning a stage this year. The Ultimate Cars podium was rounded off by Guillaume de Mevius/Xavier Panseri in their SA built Overdrive Toyota Hilux with Sebastian Loeb/Fabian Lurquin (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) third.
All of the 22 Toyota Hilux vehicles that started the Dakar Rally, were built in South Africa – only two did not finish the event including the South African pairing of Hennie de Klerk and Juan Möhr (TreasuryOne Motorsport) who had to call it a day after Stage Seven – while there were also 12 Century Racing vehicles with seven completing the event; two Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Rangers started and finished and two of the three Red-Lined Motorsport REVO T1+ received the chequered flag at the finish.
All five Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) GR IMT Hilux T1U, including two Rookie drivers, Guy Botterill and Saood Variawa (18), received their finishers medals while three of the teams finished in the top 10. Botterill, who won the Rookie award after completing his maiden Dakar Rally, paired with Brett Cummings finished sixth overall followed by Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy in seventh place after losing time due to punctures and navigational issues. The Brazilian/Spaniard team, Lucas Moraes/Armand Monleon had to settle for ninth place with their result including victory on Stage 3 for Toyota Gazoo Racing. They were, however, third overall until disaster struck on the penultimate stage when they lost time with suspension issues.
The newly crowned SA Rally-Raid Champions, Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer completed their maiden Dakar Rally in the NWM M-Sport T1+ Ranger in 44th place after a steep learning curve that saw them rolling their vehicle in Stage Seven.
Of the 70 competing vehicles in the Ultimate Class, a total of 39 were built in SA with 31 finishing this gruelling event while nine of the 11 South African competitors in the vehicle category completed the event.
“Once again South African vehicle manufacturers and their technical crews have come up trumps on this gruelling event,” said SARR chief executive officer Archie Rutherford. “It is more proof of the high standards and professionalism that abound in Rally-Raid racing in this country. “We can be unashamedly proud of the South African connection at Dakar 2024, and these performances will set the tone when the SA Rally-Raid Championship gets underway in April this year.”
