Christiaan Otto and Marius Welgemoed made it two in the row when they came out on top at the 2011 Spirit of Africa finals in Bilene, Mozambique; the same crew won the 2010 title in Namibia.
Otto and Welgemoed brought precise driving and total concentration to the challenging course, scoring 1495 points to take the title - and R50 000 in prize money.
Juan Grant and Douw Roode walked away with R30 000 for second place, on 1305 points, and Piet and Madelein Kotze earned themselves 20 000 for third with 1280 points. Nearly 500 teams entered the two eliminations rounds held in Upington and Kosi Bay.
Convenor Sarel "Supervan" van der Merwe was delighted with the level of the competition and group of participants in the 2011 competition.
"Looking back at the competition from previous years, I realise that the Spirit of Africa is attracting a new group of participants.
"Previously, we had a more traditional, older group of 4x4 drivers but this year the competition attracted a number of younger, more adventurous drivers between the ages of 21 and 26, who are bringing a whole new dimension to the competition.
"This is positive for the Spirit of Africa because it means we have tapped into a whole new market, and shows that the competition now appeals to a wider audience.
"It's good to know that the face of the competition is also changing and becoming more contemporary, although it does make me feel that I might be getting too old for the game," he added.
"The highlight for me this year was using the VW Amarok 90kW; it was consistently quicker in the rough than the bigger-engined bakkies we used to use, and dispelled the myth that smaller-capacity engines such as the 90kW, two-litre turbodiesel don't have the muscles for serious off-roading," said Van der Merwe.
The Amarok will again be the official vehicle on the 2012 Spirit of Africa competition and Van der Merwe is already looking at a different location.
"We will probably have one of the elimination rounds somewhere in Limpopo Province," he said, "and we are looking at changing the format of the competition to add some excitement and enhance its reputation for toughness."