N°258 Coche TreasuryONE

HENNIE DE KLERK

(zaf) 1.73m / 80kg

Aficiones

motorsports (offroad, track, karting), mountain biking, adventure sports, bee keeping

Sponsors

Treasury One, CIM Lubri fuel, Smalberger Staal

2020: 34th
2018: 28th (best rookie)

2023: Regional Inland Off-road series
2019: Kalahari Botswana, Morocco Desert Challenge
2017: Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race (winner Dakar challenge)

Interview

“Unfinished business!”

When you are the CEO of a very successful company, you thrive for success and try to put all the options you have on your side. That’s exactly what Hennie De Klerk has done with his business, Treasury One, and that’s also how he has been taking on his passion for off-road rallies and especially the Dakar. On the 2018 Dakar when he first appeared on the event, his motto was “race for tomorrow” and at the time he thought it would be a one off experience. His adventure to the finish turned out to be an eye-opening and successful endeavour. Indeed Hennie De Klerk flew to an amazing 28th overall position earning him the best rookie trophy. But with such a busy and demanding life, he knew that the Dakar wasn’t going to be a rally he would tackle every year. Two years after his memorable performance, De Klerk returned to this time discover Saudi Arabia. This part time bee keeper struggled far more only just making it to the finish, towed by a friendly truck on the last 80kms of the event. The South African from Pretoria is back for what he calls “unfinished business” and this time he will have quite a weapon: a T1+ Toyota based pick up designed by WCT that he tested during the regional Inland off-road series in South Africa as well as in the dunes of Namibia. Alongside new co-driver Juan Mohr who last competed in 2016, finishing 17th with Mark Corbett, De Klerk will be aiming at the Top 15.


H.D.K.: “I’m the only one in the family who drives car competitively. I started by racing on the track in a Porsche 924 and won the South African championship in 2010. And then I switched to off-road. The Dakar is the reason I started competing in the South African championship. I had that iconic picture in my head. The first time is the most memorable one and finishing best rookie made it even more special. It was phenomenal. There were so many challenges and we had no idea what to expect. You get the big picture but you don’t know exactly what to expect. But it was one of the proudest moments of my life. The 2020 edition was a lot harder and we suffered all sorts of mechanical problems. We even had to be towed over 80kms on the final stage to make it to the finish. For me the Dakar can’t be a yearly thing. Once you’ve done it however, you have to come back. We decided to order a new car and went for a T1+ model designed by WCT. The idea was to come in 2023 but the car was only finished in February this year. I’d say it’s the first privateer T1+. I’ve been testing in Namibia, but certainly not as much as a guy like Nasser (Al Attiyah). It’s the best car I’ve ever driven and we proved on local races that we could keep up with the factory Toyotas. On the Dakar we have a small team of 6 people so we have to optimize everything. My mindset is that the more extreme the rally is better are my chances of doing well against the factory teams and getting a good result.”

J.M.: “My first experience was in 2010 as a co-pilot in the powerful T4 MAN truck, as the mechanical assistance team for Nani Roma and Alfie Cox in the Overdrive Nissan. The following year I joined Anthony Taylor in the Toyota South Africa Dakar Team mechanical assistance truck, as co-pilot. Disaster struck on stage six when we rolled the ten ton T4 truck down a humongous dune, fortunately we were unharmed. Being part of the assistance crew in these monstrous trucks was a truly unique experience and something I never thought would be possible. 2016 in a car with Rundle was a mammoth experience. We were extremely pleased to finish, and to do so as 25th overall and third placed Rookie, in our first endeavour was awesome. At times we were not sure we’d make it to the finish in Valparaiso, but we kept our heads down and stuck to our game plan, taking no unnecessary risks and continually keeping our eye on the ball - the finish. No matter how many times you do the Dakar Rally, each event has its own characteristics and you never really know what to expect.”

Vehículo

TreasuryONE

TOYOTA HILUX
TREASURYONE

  • TOYOTA
  • HILUX
  • WCT
  • Treasury One
  • T1+: Prototype Cross-Country Cars 4x4

Clasificación 2024

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