Even more:
GINIEL DE VILLIERS - #301 - TOYOTA (SA)Victor of the 2009 Dakar in a Volkswagen Race Touareg and second in 2011, Giniel De Villiers has remained a front-runner since joining the Toyota team after the withdrawal of the German constructor. A change in machinery that has been negotiated to near-perfection in the Hilux Pick-up with which he has finished on the podium the last three years (3rd in 2012, then 2nd in 2013 and 2015). During the most recent edition, De Villiers was the only one able to give the future winner, Nasser Al Attiyah a run for his money, finishing 35 minutes adrift of the Qatari and far ahead of the other challengers (Holowczyc at 1h35, Van Loon at more than 3 hours). With just one rally-raid under their belts this year; the Morocco Rally (4th), the duo of De Villiers & Von Zitzewitz mainly focused their attention on improving the performance level of the petrol engine Hilux in the Kalahari Desert. The 42-year old driver, who also took part in eight rounds of the S2000 South African rally championship this year, still took the time to nourish his other passion, the Tour de France this past July, where he took in a mountain stage in the Alps as well as the final stage on the Champs-Elysées.
G.D.V.:
“We took a large step forward during the 2015 Dakar. We were in the fight for the win just until stage 7. For sure, I would have liked to have won again but we were as close as we have ever been. Since then, we have found new things to improve and it had to be done because the competition looks to be mega. Mini is still Mini and Nasser is the same old Nasser. The Peugeots have also improved a lot but the question concerning their reliability has yet to be answered. The fact that we have a petrol engine still has to be taken into consideration. We lose a lot of time in the sand. We still lack torque. On the other hand, we are good on the twisty and fast tracks and not that far behind at altitude, which is a nice surprise. We will have a new engine that has shown some strong performance for the Dakar. Sometimes we are criticized for not competing enough during the season, but believe me we do a tremendous amount of testing with the car. We have also improved the suspension and have made a minor change to the chassis. There are some new things a little bit everywhere on the car. Sure, the new layout of the race looks to favour us, but I am expecting some extremely difficult days in the Argentinian sand, near Fiambala.”GINIEL'S HISTORY SINCE 19992015: 2nd (Toyota Hilux)
2014: 4th (Toyota Hilux), 1 stage win)
2013: 2nd (Toyota Hilux)
2012: 3rd (Toyota Hilux)
2011: 2nd (Volkswagen, 1 stage win)
2010: 7th (Volkswagen)
2009: winner (Volkswagen, 3 stage wins)2007: 11th (Volkswagen, 4 stage wins)
2006: 2nd (Volkswagen, 1 stage win)
2005: 4th (2 stage wins, Nissan)
2004: 7th (1 stage win, Nissan)
2003: 5th (first appearance, Nissan)
THE VEHICLEEngine type : VO Lexus, 2UR-GSE all-alloy 32-valve quad camshaft
Output : 310 kW of power and more
Assistance : Toyota Gazoo Racing
Performance tuner : Toyota Gazoo Racing
THE DRIVERDate of birth: 25/03/1972 at BARRYDALE
Height / weight: 1.78 / 75
Situation: Marié, 2 enfants
(eish, this Marié gets around. I wonder if Leroy and Brian know she has kids?)Hobbies: Golf, bike riding, kite surfing
Sponsors: Specialized, Red Bull, Oakley, Toyota, Duxbury Netgear, Innovation Group, SAA, TFM, Shatterprufe, Supreme, Spanjaard, Edgecam, Mastercraft, Donaldson, Castrol, NGK, SKF, Sparco.Innovation Group, SAA, TFM, Shatterprufe, Supreme, Spanjaard, Edgecam, Masterc

