Koen Wauters: I am incredibly proud of those guys and the team, but also a little angry with myself

With a ceremonial stage finishing at Lac Rose in Dakar, the curtain has fallen on the 17th Africa Eco Race for the competitors — and with them, for the entire Feryn Dakar Team. Their second participation had a turbulent start, two unfortunate retirements, and a happy ending after much swearing and shovelling.

Beaming with pride, Cédric Feryn and Bjorn Burgelman drove onto the podium on Saturday afternoon, where they were crowned winners of their class. At the foot of the podium, a visibly proud father Pascal Feryn, accompanied by an equally proud close friend Koen Wauters, applauded enthusiastically, surrounded by the rest of the team. A loud cheer rose as Cédric and Bjorn lifted the trophy into the air.

“This is an amazing feeling,” said Cédric Feryn. “I’m happy and I look back on a great rally. At times it was really tough, but when you manage to push through, moments like this become even more special. Bjorn and I have been through so much over the past two weeks. We really messed around, struggled, swore, and did so much more. In the dunes we even thought about giving up and I said we should just stop. But we gave it another go, managed to get out, and reached the bivouac. Perseverance and refusing to give up — that’s what will stay with me the most. Our car is heavy, too heavy for the dunes, but incredibly strong. It’s a shame about the electronic issues, because apart from that the car was excellent. Three punctures in two weeks — considering where we drove, that’s actually nothing.”

With every sentence Cédric spoke, Bjorn nodded in agreement. “This is a fantastic moment. Driving onto the podium shortly feels like a victory. We won our class, but above all, we finished the rally. What I’ll remember are the beautiful landscapes, the heavy dunes, our heavy car, the endless shovelling of sand and unloading of sand ladders. But above all, I’ll remember the friendship that put us on the podium today. That camaraderie, combined with the commitment of the guys, leaves me speechless. We often arrived late and exhausted at the bivouac. And then those guys were there, also tired, but rolling up their sleeves, working, searching, thinking about how to get us to Dakar. And look — they did it. They should all be on the podium with us, maybe that will still happen later,” said Bjorn Burgelman.

Pascal Feryn could not hide his emotions as he watched his son on the podium. “I’m disappointed about what happened to me, but I’m incredibly proud of my son. He’s my flesh and blood. Those guys are 30 years old. I was 40 when I stood on this podium for the first time. When you see everything those boys have done over the past two weeks, it’s fantastic.”

After his retirement, Koen Wauters continued on to Dakar. “I didn’t want to miss this moment. Arriving at Lac Rose is something special — you have to experience it to understand it. Still, I’m standing here with mixed feelings. When you see Cédric and Bjorn finish, joy takes over because they made it and won their class. That’s huge for the team, who worked incredibly hard for it, both before and during the rally. I’m happy for them, but I’m also very angry with myself. The lesson — and I should have known this, having done enough rallies — is that if you can’t see clearly, you must stay calm and take no risks. Even if you’ve taken five dunes perfectly, the next one can be the one where it goes wrong. But we’ll take that lesson into the next race. Because beyond the sporting aspect, being together with friends is the most beautiful thing there is.”

Source: Feryn Dakar Team