Giniel de Villiers, a South African racing and rally driver was born on March 25, 1972 in Barrydale.
He is best known for winning the 2009 Dakar Rally.
Giniel began his career in circuit racing, winning the domestic South African touring car championship four times in succession from 1997 to 2000 with a dealer-backed Nissan Primera.
Switching to off-road racing thereafter, he made his Dakar Rally debut in 2003, driving for the Nissan team.
Giniel switched his allegiance to Volkswagen when Nissan withdrew their factory team at the end of 2005 and joined the South African Imperial Toyota team since the 2012.
