‘We made it!’: Ballito navigator and German racing partner claim 36th place at 2022 Dakar
It was a punishing race across Saudi Arabia for the PS Laser racing duo, who completed more than 8 000km of unforgiving terrain.
Fourteen days of dust, sweat and tears later and Ballito’s own racing extremist Ryan Bland completed the 44th Dakar Rally in a solid 36th place.
Bland and his German rally partner Daniël Schröder took on the gruelling 12 stage rally with gusto, a first for Bland while Schröder has previously completed the race twice in the motorcycle category.
It was a punishing race across Saudi Arabia for the PS Laser racing duo, who completed more than 8 000km of unforgiving terrain.
The rally started on January 1 and finished last Friday, with the duo claiming 36th place and finishing in an overall time of 52 hours, 14 minutes and 41 seconds.
Daniël was standing in for his dad Jürgen, a veteran Dakar racer who would have made this his 10th outing.
The 63-year-old was forced to pull out owing to a shoulder injury which needs surgery.
During the final 160km stage from Bisha to Jeddah, the team finished in 1 hour, 56 minutes and 11 seconds.
The dunes may have been behind our Ballito and Germany supported team, but the majority of the closing tracks were still sandy.
The race was not without difficulty for the VK50 Nissan Navara team as they encountered a number of mechanical obstacles, with repairs losing them precious time.
Despite this, they continued to push, landing them in 36th place overall, with a stage 12 finishing position of 38th.
“We want to thank you all for supporting us,” they said.
“It has been a wonderful experience,” Ryan added, extending thanks to his family and team for the continued support from day one of the rally.
“We made it to the finish, and that in itself is an achievement.”
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