Basson, Pienaar flying the SA flag with brilliant driving in tough Dakar rally

The 2023 Dakar Rally may not have gone to plan for many of the crews and teams, especially Audi and its legendary drivers Carlos Sainz Sr and Stéphane Peterhansel, but for others, it went as planned. Or rather, as good as it could go.

Of the lucky ones are Eben Basson and Leander Pienaar, racing for the G Rally Team.

The South Africans are competing in a lightweight prototype OT3 racing car and are currently seventh overall in the T3 Lightweight Prototype class at the start of today's ninth stage.

They are 47th overall in the general standings.

And while it has not always been easy, the gents from sunny SA are relishing the conditions.

"The rally to date has been incredibly tough. Not only on the car, but also on us," said Basson from the Rest Day at the bivouac in Riyadh on Monday, 9 January. "The stages are tough, the liaisons are often long, and without a windscreen, we often find ourselves exposed to the cold and rain, but we love every moment."

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Basson and Pienaar are the South African Class T1 champions, showing that our talent pool can run with the world's best. Among these 'bests' are teammates Guillaume de Mevius from Belgium and his French co-driver Francois Cazalet, who currently lead the class T3 and are 16th overall in the general standings.

"It is such an honour to be part of the G Rally Team, and to be driving an identical OT3 lightweight prototype to the one that is currently leading the class," continued Basson. "Our teammates are superstars in this world, and we're learning a lot from them every day."