“Very privileged to be back in the brand new CR7”

The Dakar is a cruel animal. Just when you think you’ve tamed it, it bites back. With two stages to go Brian Baragwanath and his co-driver Leonard Cremer were on the verge of capturing their best every finish in a car. Seventh overall, it all went wrong on the way to Al Hofuf, when the crew suffered a nasty crash. The end of a very consistent rally until then in their Century Racing CR6. Back in 2016, on South American soil, Baragwanath had managed a far better performance. Riding a quad at the time, the South-African had managed to clinch two stage wins on his way to third spot of the podium. But that was before his Dakar adventure with Century Racing really started. Indeed for several years now he’s been working for Century Racing as an engineer. He was indeed one of the main men behind the success of the CR6 and is now proud and privileged to be the driver who will test out the brand new CR7 on the tracks of the Dakar… especially after his painful crash in 2023! A new era therefore starts for Century Racing who will indeed be launching their new T1+, a four-wheel drive car powered by a V6 engine. Baragwanath however knows just too well that in such a young car, he can’t yet have high expectations. At his side, the 35-year-old will again have Leonard Cremer at his side, a man with whom he started competing back in 2016 on the South African cross-country scene.

B.B.: “It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster of a year. Last year on the Dakar, we were doing really well and we probably should’ve ended up sixth overall and with two stages to go, we crashed out. We were very lucky not to get hurt so that was the only thing to celebrate. It’s been a tough year to pick up from there. The season, racing locally hasn’t been great. We had some tough results. It’s been difficult to make a comeback. I feel very lucky and privileged to be on the start line of Dakar 2024 in a brand new Century Racing T1+, the CR7. It’ll be the first competitive four-wheel drive car that Century Racing has built. We have two years of catching up to do against our competitors being the best in the world, like Toyota. The base of the CR7 is already looking very good, working from everything that we’ve learnt from the CR6 and using the same engine. At least we have a year of development on this engine. The handling comes across quite similar except it’s four wheel drive with slightly less suspension travel but… what a car! It’s just a bit heavier and it’s a real thrill to drive. Back in January, it felt like I crashed out of rally-raid racing. It’s been really difficult to get back after that. We look forward to be back on the start line.”

L.C.: “It was very disappointing on the last Dakar to end our great run like that. A very tricky dune section caught us out not far into the stage. Luckily both of us were ok. Those are the highs and lows of Dakar… What made this experience even more special is that I was able to do to it with one of the best racing drivers in the world as well as one of the best cars in the world! Last year was definitely a lot tougher for us than 2022 and what made it possible to finish was the massive effort from our team.”