“Every year, you come back with a different goal”
En bref
D.S.
- Car racing is a family business in the Schroder family. The father, Jurgen Schroder, has been racing the Dakar tracks since 2009. He began as Alfie Cox’s navigator before becoming a driver himself. He passed his passion on to his sons Daniel and Maximilian, who both followed him into rally-raid competition.
- Daniel completed the Dakar twice on a bike in South America, earning two finisher’s medals (51st in 2011, 20th in 2012). He then gained valuable experience as a navigator alongside his father in 2015, 2016, and 2019. He stepped into the driver’s seat in 2022 as a late replacement for Jurgen, who was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury. Despite not having driven a rally car for nearly two years, he brought his Nissan Navara VK50 to the finish in a respectable 36th position.
- After improving further in 2023 (28 th ), Daniel felt it was time to take the next step. Competing in T1 no longer fully satisfied his ambitions, so he moved up to the T1+ category in 2025. He quickly proved his potential with two Top 5 stage finishes, but without the finisher’s medal. He joined the W2RC field for the entire season, continuing his new partnership with Henry Carl Kohne, and has already planned a second season in 2026.
- Daniel works alongside his father and brother in the PS Laser company, and part of the family will also be reunited in January. Jurgen is coming back for his tenth Dakar, something that makes Daniel particularly happy. They will compete with two Volkswagen Amarok prepared by WCT.
H.C.K.
- Henry is a pure product of South African off-road racing. Rallying has been his passion since his school days, sharing it with his cousin. They began as race marshals before becoming competitors themselves. Henry has covered countless kilometers as a navigator and now knows most of the tracks of his home country.
- Motorsport is deeply rooted in his family: not only his cousin, but also his father, brother, and even his wife are involved as drivers or co-drivers. Henry proudly continues this tradition and is honoured to compete at the Dakar with WCT, the South African company responsible for building the car and designing the chassis. The project is also supported by South African partners such as Alfie Cox Adventure Tours.
- Henry made his Dakar debut in 2022 alongside fellow South African Ernest Roberts. During that event, he met Daniel Schroder, and they completed their first Dakar together the following year. They showed strong pace with two Top 5 stage results, even though various issues meant they were classified in the Experience category at the finish.
- Their collaboration proved so successful that they went on to contest the entire World Rally-Raid Championship together. One highlight was a strong Top 10 result on home soil at the South African Safari Rally. The experience gained across thousands of W2RC kilometers could be the key to making the PS Laser Racing duo one of the challengers of the 2026 Dakar.
Ambition
D.S.: “It was a very interesting first year with the T1+, which is a truly competitive car. When I look at our stage results, some were much better than I expected. That was a pleasant surprise and I’m very happy with the performance. On the other hand, we faced some technical issues, like the one with the engine that put us into the Experience category of the Dakar. We had highs and lows, we proved that we can be competitive but of course, the big picture is to reach the finish and earn the finisher’s medal. It was very valuable for me to complete a full W2RC season for the first time, to become part of the family, get to know other competitors, and really understand where we stand. Overall, the competition is extremely tough, but we will aim for a position between 15th and 20th . We’ve made developments to the car and improved our teamwork with my navigator, so I hope to have more consistency. We fought with some very strong competitors, so getting close to the Top 10 isn’t impossible. You never know, but we’ll try to challenge a bit the big names! My passion for the Dakar never fades. Every year, you come back with a different goal. Driving a T1+ is incredible, it’s mind- blowing what these cars can do. In 2026 we’ll be a bigger team with two cars, and my father will be there. Racing in family, seeing each other during the event, is always special. I’m very happy that he’ll finally compete in his tenth Dakar.”
H.C.K.: “I became friend with Daniel during the Dakar 2022, and our first participation together last year had many positives. Unfortunately, we had some issues on a few stages and couldn’t complete the entire route, but we also had some very strong days. It will be my third Dakar and our second one together. Our preparation is quite similar, but the biggest change is having completed a full W2RC season. It really improves your understanding of navigation, communication in the car, what works and what doesn’t... Physically, the demands are even higher now because the Ultimate cars are driven so much harder. We’re hitting everything faster, so fitness has become even more important. On the technical side, we’ve made improvements to the car, especially to the suspension, and we’ve added a torque meter, which gives us an advantage over last year. Let’s say that these changes bring us closer to the performance level of the factory teams.”
