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SA duo Basson, Pienaar rake in coveted 'Rookie Award' at Dakar's conclusion

Eben Basson and Leander Pienaar completed their first Dakar Rally, crossing the finish line in seventh place overall in the T3 Lightweight Prototype category for the G Rally team. Having never driven their OT3 race car before, the 2023 Dakar was the first time they'd get behind its steering wheel, but immediately felt at home like a fish in water.

This year's race was one of the toughest in Dakar's history, but Basson and Pienaar would want no other baptism than the one they got in 2023.

"We came here with one clear objective, and that was to finish the race," said an emotional Basson at the finish line. "But before we started, Leander and I decided that we weren't here to mess around. We set ourselves a target of a top 10 finish."

Which is exactly what they achieved after two gruelling weeks of racing.

Hitting their stride

Basson and Pienaar faced tough competition throughout the Rally, with the six competitors ahead of them having competed in it before. Yet, it soon became apparent that seventh was theirs as the gap to the crew in sixth was just too out of reach.

"At this point, we knew that we did all that we could do. For the last few stages, it became a matter of survival as our focus was to simply defend our overall position," Basson added.

READ: Dakar 2023 | SA the talk of the town as world's toughest race comes to a close

Fortunately, their advantage over the crew in eighth was enough for them to secure the position and 37th overall in the general car standings.

Basson and Pienaar were also awarded the Rookie prize, a well-earned pat on the shoulder for making it to the end of such a tough race.

Basson summed it up: "As a racer at heart, one always wants to win, but realistically, our rookie victory and seventh overall is

Read more on news24.com