“I'm looking forward to this Dakar”

Not only has Giniel De Villiers won the Dakar, but he is also the joint-record holder for consecutive finishes. Last year on the Saudi Arabian tracks, the South African effectively joined the venerable Yoshimasa Sugawara in the truck category (1989-2009), bringing his record to 20 consecutive participations without a single retirement. The 51-year-old South African, who helped Volkswagen win its first Dakar in 2009, remains a driver of metronomic regularity: only once has he finished outside the Top 10 (in 2007), 15 times in the Top 5 and 7 times on the podium. Perhaps a little less flashy, De Villiers once again put his experience to good use on the last Dakar, climbing to fourth place overall without winning a single stage (he does have 18 of them). And that's no doubt why the Toyota Gazoo team is counting so heavily on this driver who made his Dakar debut in 2003, finishing 5th in a Nissan. Always at the pointy end of his national championship against a promising new generation, De Villiers devotes most of his time to developing the Hilux, notably in Namibia and the Kalahari Desert. On the next Dakar, and in the company of Dennis Murphy, his navigator for the past seven years in the South African championship and for the past three years on the Dakar, the Barrydale native will be invaluable to the young Toyota guard but will always keep in mind the title that he dreams of regaining 11 years later.

G.D.V.: "I grew up on a farm and raced everything I could get my hands on. It all started when I was 4, in a pedal go-kart. My father loved motorsport, and he passed the virus on to me. Then I started on the track, especially in touring cars, before moving to off-road.”
“The Dakar always poses challenges. And we certainly had our share in 2023. Of course, it could have been better for us, but many competitors can probably say the same. It would have been nice to finish on the podium, but overall, Toyota, as a manufacturer, has every reason to be proud. This result proves the Hilux's reliability, and we demonstrated just how good this incredible vehicle is in Saudi Arabia.”
“I'm looking forward to another Dakar. We tested some new things on the car but made no significant modifications. We can only make do with minor improvements. I competed again in the South African championship. It's going to be an interesting Dakar with a lot of young drivers coming through. It's great for the sport and Toyota.”


D.M.: “We had our ups and downs on the 2023 Dakar but finished the rally in a respectable 4th place. What an incredible race. We have to pay tribute to the team members who remain in the background but work like crazy to ensure that we have a perfect car. We didn't have a single mechanical incident throughout the Dakar. Once again, Giniel drove like the champion he is.”