Johannesburg – While Giniel de Villiers’ title hopes were finally put to bed in the 2015 Dakar Rally on Saturday, fellow South African driver Willem Saaijman won the final quad stage of the annual race for South Africa’s solitary stage victory in this year’s edition.
Despite finishing fifth in the final stage – which ended in Buenos Aires – De Villiers failed to catch overall winner Nasser Al-Attiya, who finished a place behind the South African, but still managed to see out the victory.
De Villiers’ fine display handed the Toyota driver a sixth career podium finish, finishing second behind Al-Attiya.
But the day belonged to Saaijman, who powered his Yamaha over the finish line, six seconds ahead of France’s Christophe DeClerck.
The victory saw Saaijman finish the overall quad category in ninth position, more than 13 hours adrift of winner, Rafal Sonik.
Another South African, Leeroy Poulter, finished the 13th and final stage strongly, finishing second in the car category, behind the American pair of Robby Gordon and Johnny Campbell, who won the final stage 25 seconds faster.
Poulter and his teammate Robert Howie finished the rally 16th in the overall standings, two places up from Friday’s finish.
The off-road endurance race, formerly known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, moved to South America in 2009 and runs through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. – Sapa