SA pair qualify for Dakar Rally

Two South African privateers got a step closer to tackling next year’s Dakar Rally when they won the recent Dakar Challenge in the Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race.

The victory gained Hennie de Klerk and Achim Bergmann a free entry for the world’s longest and toughest motorsport event.

De Klerk and former South African champion Bergmann, in their Treasury One/Atlas Copco VW Amarok, were the only Dakar Challenge entries to see out the distance on the Desert Race, the only marathon race on the South African cross country calendar. In the final classification, the Amarok was ninth overall behind three FIA class and five class T entries. “We hardly had to get out of the car,” said de Klerk.

“We had two punctures but on a typical Botswana route with more sand and more sand, Achim and I decided the best approach was to be steady and take no chances. “It paid off and the VW Amarok performed beautifully.” Three of the main challengers to de Klerk and Bergmann fell by the wayside.

Henk Lategan/Barry White (Puma Lubricants Ranger), Schalk Burger/Elvéne Coetzee (King Price Extreme Porter) and Keith du Toit/ Robbie Coetzee (Scandia BAT) all failed to finish.