Thomas Rundle and Juan Mohr will compete privately in the
2014 Dakar Rally in South America in January in the same Toyota Hilux in which
Duncan Vos and Rob Howie finished 10th in the 2012 Dakar Rally and which
took the Toyota Motorsport pair to victory in the 2012 national off road
championship.
It will be their first attempt at the world’s longest and
toughest motor race and the realisation of a long-held dream for both
experienced off roaders. The pair earned a free entry, valued at around
R400 000, after they won the Dakar Challenge that formed part of the
Toyota Botswana 1000 Desert Race in June, where they finished sixth overall..
“The Dakar Rally is the ultimate challenge for an off road
racer and it has always been my dream to compete in it,” said Rundle. The
30-year-old group manager of the family-owned BARDEN company in Pretoria
started his off road racing career in 2004 in a Toyota Hilux and is delighted
to be back in a Hilux.
“I have worked closely with Glyn Hall during my off road
racing career and have received tremendous help and encouragement from him and
his team. We concluded a deal for me to take over Duncan’s Hilux at the end of
the current season in Gauteng in November.
“While we will be genuine privateers with our own back-up
team and support vehicles, our Hilux will be prepared for us by Toyota
Motorsport and shipped to Argentina in December along with the two factory
Hilux V8s.
“Juan and I have formed an excellent racing relationship
over the past few years and, with his previous experience of the Dakar and the
Dakar-proven Toyota Hilux, we are quietly confident we can do ourselves and our
country proud.”
Mohr is equally excited about competing in the Dakar. The
36-year-old project manager at Century Property Developments, who was the 2008
national off road co-driver champion, commented, “To compete in the Dakar
alongside Thomas will be the highlight of my racing career.”
Rundle has spent time in the Namib Desert near Walvis Bay
under the tuition of desert driving expert Don Nieuwoudt of West Coast 4x4 and
also accompanied Toyota Motorsport to the Namibian dunes for more experience.
Their Dakar preparation programme also includes attending
the High Performance Centre of the University of Pretoria’s Institute for
Sports Research for strength and conditioning training and sessions with a
dietician, physiotherapist and sports psychologist.
“It’s a marathon 14-day drive through some of the toughest
terrain in Argentina and Chile and we need to be in top physical and mental
condition,” said Rundle, who added that they were also benefiting from working
with Dr Sherylle Calder from Eyegym at the Sports and Science Institute of
South Africa in Cape Town.
STORY COURTESY OF PETER PETER BURROUGHES COMMUNICATIONS
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