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Dakar 2024: Hennie just happy to be racing at Dakar
Dakar waiting is finally over for TreasuryONE Motorsport
TreasuryONE Motorsport’s Hennie de Klerk and Juan Mohr finally enjoyed 20 minutes of racing when Dakar 2024 got under way with a short, sharp 28 kilometre Prologue around Al’Ula in the Saudi Arabian Desert on Friday. Despite a small navigation issue, the duo was satisfied by their pace aboard the TreasuryONE Toyota Hilux T1+.
“It was great to be back in the car and racing after all the months pf preparation and then the documentation, checks and waiting here in Al’Ula!” Hennie de Klerk reported. “It was hot and dusty, so we elected to take it easy and get back to grips in the car as I have not driven it much in anger lately, so I was very happy with my pace.
“We were two minutes off the quickest car, but that includes about a minute we lost to a navigation error. We have shot up from 58th this morning to provisionally start tomorrow in 40th. The car is good, we are comfortable and we have a great package. We may be a little off the speed of the turbo V6s with our 5-litre V8, but it is easier to run as privateers, and still we were ahead of several big names, so all good.
“The real race starts tomorrow. We have 8,000 km of driving, almost 5,000 of which is racing ahead of us, so let’s get into it gently and play the long game.” Saturday’s first full stage Dakar 2024 is a 532 km race to Al Henakiyah.
Source: TreasuryONE Motorsport
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