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| Bradley Cox shows his Dakar racing number to his dad, Dakar great Alfie Cox (left). |
Twenty-one South Africans will line up among the 918 entries confirmed for the start of the Dakar 2022 in Jeddah tomorrow, most of them in the teams of Toyota Gazoo Racing and Century Racing.
Three of the four Toyota Gazoo Racing teams are “Saffers”, with Giniel de Villiers — who arrived in Saudi Arabia only yesterday after a positive test scare — alongside navigator Dennis Murphy in car No.207.
Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings are in car No.225, with Lategan determined to avoid another head-over tail crash that he suffered last year.
Shameer Variawa and co-driver Danie Stassen will be racing in car No.233.
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| Toyota Gazoo Racing is aiming for another podium in the new Hilux T1+. |
Century Racing celebrate a decade
Century Racing entered 10 teams for their tenth Dakar, four of them from Mzansi. Schalk Burger and Henk Janse Van Vuuren are racing in car No.271.
“It’s ironic that at fifty I’m a rookie. But I’ve got enough experience.
“The Dakar is an endurance race and it’s more mental than physical. I was privileged to make the cut for one of the ten Century cars.
Henk is an experienced navigator and I couldn’t have chosen a better partner,” Burger said.
His teammates Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer “hopes to make waves” for the tenth anniversary of Century Racing on the Dakar in car No.230.
Mark Corbett, who will be celebrating his 48th birthday on day 3 of the Dakar, aims to improve on his 17th place in 2016 with co-driver Rodney Burke in car No.253.
The other “rookie” on the Century team is Ernest Roberts. The 56-year-old is a regular figure in the SA cross-country series and will be racing his first Dakar alongside Henry Kohne in car No.286.
Bikes
The Covid withdrawal of KZN hard enduro rider Kirsten Landman has reduced by one the 168 bike entries, four of whom are South Africans.
Landman’s last-minute withdrawal leaves only three women in the bike race, Sara Garcia and Sandra Gomez from Spain and Audrey Rossat from France.
Among the leading riders, the focus is on current title holder, Keven Benvides from Argentina, who is expected to compete up front against double former winner, Australian Toby Price.
KwaZulu-Natal readers will, however, be rooting for two riders further back, Midlands-based Bradley Cox, and Port Edward’s veteran rider Stuart Gregory.
The 23-year-old Cox is the current South African enduro champion who has learned his craft on motocross tracks in Europe since he was 15. He aims to follow in the tracks of his legendary father, Alfie Cox. Cox senior left deep tracks indeed, with eight stage wins and three podiums, including a second in 2002, as KTM rider from 1998 to 2005.
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| Geoff Minnit and Siegfried Rousseau (Photo: Elza Thiaart) |
Light Weight Vehicles
Plettenberg Bay businessman Geoff Minnit and Siegfried Rousseau will be the first team of South Africans to compete in the Light Weight Vehicles category, but their aim is to tick of the Dakar on their bucket list and — if possible — to finish in their Can-Am buggy No.441.
There are no South Africans in the Dakar’s other categories of quads, special vehicles and trucks.
SA competitors in Dakar 2022
Cars T1 & T1+
#207 Giniel de Villiers & Dennis Murphy
#225 Henk Lategan & Brett Cummings
#230 Brian Baragwanath & Leonard Cremer
#233 Shameer Variwa & Danie Stassen
#253 Chris Visser & Rodney Burke
#267 Daniel Schroeder & Ryan Bland
#271 Schalk Burger & Henk Janse van Vuuren
#286 Ernest Roberts & Heny Kohne
Bikes
#006 Aaron Mare – Rally GP Elite
#049 Bradley Cox – Rally 2
#084 Stuart Gregory – Original by Motul
#123 Charan Moore – Original by Motul
Light Weight Vehicles
#441 Geoff Minnit & Siegfried Rousseau
