Local businessmen and off-road rally teammates, Dewald van Breda and Johann du Toit of Crew312 Racing, took another step towards their Road to Dakar 2023 dream with the unveiling of a brand-new Century Racing (CR 6) rally car.
This orange and black beauty is the newest addition to Crew312 as an upgrade of the CR 5 rally car the duo has raced in, in the SA Cross Country Series in the past few months.
Video: Wouter Pienaar
The new car made a flashy appearance during a launch at Lekwena Restaurant on Monday, 30 August, where Van Breda, Du Toit and the rest of the Crew 312 gave the guests a taste of their aspirations in competing in the 5,000 km 2023 Dakar off-road stage race in Saudi Arabia.
Photos: Wouter Pienaar
Van Breda and Du Toit will compete in the Kalahari Rally this coming week (2–10 September), a grueling 3,600 km stage race, as one of the preparation races on their road to Dakar 2023. Crew312 will also compete in three races this year – the SACCS (South African Cross-Country Series) at 4×4 Mega World 400, Nampo (1–2 October), Vryburg 400 (29–30 October) and the Parys 400 on 20 November.
As part of the car unveiling event, Crew312 also brought in a special guest in the form of Century Racing’s SA Dakar Rally driver, Brian Baragwanath, who shared his experience of competing in the world’s most prestigious and toughest off-road rally event.
Baragwanath was one of the top drivers in the Dakar 2021 edition, finishing the prologue tied in first-place with the Dakar legend, Nasser al-Attiyah.
He and his co-driver, Taye Perry had to endure a couple of ups and downs during the race but still managed to finish the race in 32nd place and earn a finishers’ medal. Baragwanath stated that a budget of around R6 million is needed for teams to enter the Dakar, hence the reason why sponsors are paramount.
With approximately 16 months to go before the Dakar 2023 edition, Crew 312 Racing is more than ready to turn its dream into reality. Funding and sponsorship will be the main building blocks in the foundation of that dream, but with a talented driver and navigator and new CR 6 car, the Potch-based team is taking another leap towards that dream.
The countdown has begun – 3…2…1…Go!
Contact Johann du Toit on 082 820 0662 for more information or sponsorship enquiries.
