South Africans at the Dakar

Giniel de Villiers

“Mr Reliable” kept his impeccable Dakar record intact by finishing for the 17th time in as many starts.

In his ninth drive for Toyota Gazoo Racing, he steered his Hilux to fifth place overall and record his 14th top-five finish.

Hennie de Klerk

The privateer returned to the race in which he won the top rookie award in a car in 2018 – he missed the 2019 edition – alongside co-driver Johann Smalberger in the Red-Lined South African-built Nissan Navara he swapped for his VW Amarok.

He started stage 12 in 27th place, but transmission trouble saw him drop back to 34th overall, 13:09:21 adrift.

Kirsten Landman

After being involved in an enticing duel with Taye Perry to become the first African woman to finish the rally on a motorbike, Landman took the honours and was the fastest woman in 2020 after Perry suffered a setback in stage 11.

Riding for Bas Dakar KTM Racing, Landman finished 55th in the motorcycle class, 16:25:40 off Ricky Brabec’s winning time.

Gregory Stuart

The biker had a score to settle after being forced to retire with a broken engine agonisingly close to the end of his debut race last year.

He made up for his heartache tenfold on his KTM by reaching the finish in 63rd, 18:19:37 behind Brabec. More importantly, he finished 11th of the 27 riders competing in the Original by Motul class, a category which stipulates the riders are not allowed outside assistance.

Taye Perry

For most of the race, the 1.58m Perry was the leading South African on a bike in her debut race and toyed with the top-50.

But on stage 11, she suffered a massive setback on her KTM 450 and had to be towed back to the bivouac, resulting in her haemorrhaging time. She finished 77th, 22:02;43 back.

The unfortunate

Former Springbok hurdler Wessel Bosman and Aaron Mare both had to retire early, while Mike Horn, navigating for former winner Cyril Despres, retired in the second week.

Making things happen

While the Toyota Gazoo Racing Hiluxes remain the most prominent SA-built cars, tiny Johannesburg racing car maker Century also made headlines after Frenchman Mathieu Serradori took the team’s first Dakar stage win en route to a splendid eighth overall in a Corvette-powered buggy.

Apart from De Klerk, Kyalami-based Red-Lined Motoring Adventure’s other Navara, driven by Briton Thomas Bell, finished 36th.