Expect a big South African presence at the 2024 Dakar Rally

The 46th edition of the Dakar Rally kicks off on January 5. A total of 354 cars, motorcycles, quads and trucks will line up to start the 157km prologue around AlUla for the rally’s fifth edition in Saudi Arabia. 

The 12-stage race covers 7,900km in two weeks and it is big news all around, starting with the previous winning pair of Nasser al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel.

The five-time Dakar Rally winners of 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023 have left Toyota to join the Prodrive team in the Prodrive-built HunterT1+.

“Over the years I have won with three different manufacturers in Rally Raid, but to win with a fourth car is a big target for us. We’re really looking forward to it,” said al-Attiyah.

In a new twist, the 52-year-old driver will join Dacia’s official line-up in a yet-to-be-unveiled prototype that will run on synthetic fuel in 2025.

Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa 

The Dakar-winning GR DKR Hilux T1+ has been upgraded for the 2024 event and the outfit has confirmed three crews comprising mostly South Africans. Veteran Giniel de Villiers again partners navigator Denis Murphy and Guy Botterill pairs with Brett Cummings.

The other team is made up of 18-year-old rookie Sa’ood Variawa, son of Shameer Variawa, who contested the Dakar Rally with Toyota in 2021 and 2022. His navigator is Frenchman Francois Cazalet. Henk Lategan misses out due to a shoulder injury.

Ford returns to Dakar 

Ford’s official return to the Dakar is with a South African twist. Neil Woolridge Racing will enter a pair of M-Sport developed Ford Ranger Raptors driven by South African rookie crew Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer. Spanish Dakar legend Nani Roma and Alex Haro Bravo are in the second car. A third Ford pairing has Czech privateers Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytka in a Raptor.

More than 12 South Africans will either drive or navigate, including 2018 Rookie winner Hennie de Klerk and Juan Möhr in a privateer Hilux; Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer in a Century CR7-T; and Riaan Greyling navigating in a Red-Lined. In the motorcycle category, South African hopes lie with Charan Moore, Kerim Fitz-Gerald, Bradley Cox and Michael Docherty. 

Zimbabwean Ashley Thixton is racing a Husqvarna motorcycle while Botswana’s Ross Branch is another Southern African rider entered in the bike race.

South African-built machines 

An interesting development in the 2024 Dakar is that out of the 72 cars entered, 38 are built in South Africa. There are 23 Toyota Hiluxes built by Hallspeed, 12 Centurys and three Red-Lined, with one of the latter cars built for teen lady racer Aliyyah Koloc. All the cars are built in Midrand except the two Ford Ranger built by Neil Woolridge Racing in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.

Big names

The Dakar has in recent years earned a reputation of being a big-name puller. Formula One champion Fernando Alonso previously competed in the Dakar, while WRC legend Sebastian Loeb is now a regular. French driver Romain Dumas, who has broken a number of records, including recently driving a Porsche 911 up the world’s tallest volcano, will also be competing.

The Audi Sport contingent features “Mr Dakar” himself, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel, who will be looking for his 15th Dakar win on either two and four wheels. Carlos Sainz Snr is looking for his fourth Dakar victory and former DTM and FIA World Rallycross Champion Mattias Ekström will also be in the hunt with Audi Sport.

Teams 

Toyota remains the favourite to win due to its victories over the years, but other teams to keep an eye out for are the X-Raid Minis, as they can pull out a surprise win. So too the petrol-electric Audi buggies. A pair of Chinese BAIC entries for Guoyu Zhang and Zi Yunliang and Sha He should also make interesting viewing.

The Dakar

“The fifth edition of Dakar in Saudi Arabia will be the toughest race since we have come to the Middle East,” said race director David Castera.

“We will race 4,727km and cover 7,891km of special stages, including a new two-day ‘48h chrono’ marathon stage, where competitors must stop at the nearest of eight bivouacs at 4pm and crews will have no contact with their teams. This one will be tough. Good luck to all competitors and teams,” concluded Castera.