South African rally enthusiasts can this season look forward to watching Dakar Rally hero Giniel de Villiers pilot a works BP Volkswagen Polo in the SA championship.
Navigating for De Villiers will be Ralph Pitchford – the two were part of VW’s Dakar Race Touareg entry but did not compete in the same car.
The BP Volkswagen rally team will now field four BP Volkswagen Polo works entries in its S2000 lineup. The 2010 championship-winning duo of Enzo Kuun and navigator Guy Hodgson will again tackle the season side-by-side. For Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries the partnership will also continue into the new season, while Jan Habig gets a new navigator in the form of Robert Paisley - who will move across from navigating for Leeroy Poulter in the Toyota Auris.
This will mark Giniel’s rally debut, but so far he’s been successful in every form of racing he’s tried. De Villiers won the SA Touring Car championship four times before winning the SA Off-Road championship. He took victory in the 2009 Dakar Rally and finished second in 2011.