Kalahari Rally 2020: De Klerk delighted with new Dakar steed

TreasuryONE Racing enjoyed an excellent week of competitive testing when Hennie de Klerk and Johann Smalberger raced the Kalahari Rally as a shake down for their all-new Red-Lined Nissan Navara VK56 racer. De Klerk and Smalberger were delighted with their new steed and the TreasuryONE team is now fully focused on Dakar 2020 Saudi Arabia 5-17 January.

“We were truly thrilled with our new TreasuryONE Red-Lined Nissan Navara VK56,” Hennie admitted. “We would really struggle to go back to our old car now — the extra torque and mid mounted engine really complements the ride. 

“We learned a lot about navigation at the Kalahari Rally, which proved to be the most difficult route that Johann and I have done yet — it was far more difficult than even the Dakar or Morocco Desert Challenge. “Super-tight terrain with lots of long grass and big bushes made it so difficult to easily find the route, so we opted to slow down and follow the road book to the tee and we were OK after that.

“The event also had some great liaison stages and long days, which makes it the perfect race to prepare for anyone with Dakar ambitions.“ TreasuryONE has now engaged with the Dakar organisers ASO to sponsor the entry for the bike, side by side and car winners of the 2020 Kalahari Rally and we are most excited for the future of the race.
 
“We however used the Kalahari Rally purely as a training and testing ground this year as we got to know the Navara and we decided against doing the last day of the rally purely to save the car some unnecessary mileage and wear and tear, but we really enjoyed racing in the true Dakar spirit right here in South Africa. 

“Now it’s all eyes on Dakar 2020 and the strategy is to bring the TreasuryONE Red-Lined Navara home in the top twenty -- it’s getting exciting and we are already counting the sleeps to the start on 5 January —  bring it on!

Source Red Lined Motorsport