Podium finish for Brad Cox at Dakar

Described by even the most hardened competitors as one of the most challenging races on record, South Africa’s Brad Cox (25) was undeterred, putting on an impressive performance on the back of a stellar 2023 season to place 3rd in the Rally2 category and 13th overall in the Bike category at this year’s Dakar Rally.

Cox was also the only South African to make it to the Top 20 overall in the contest.
Running from January 5 to January 19 in Saudi Arabia, this was the 46th edition of the Dakar Rally which saw 239 vehicles – 96 of which were bikes – competing over almost 8 000km from the ancient city of AlUla to the shores of the Red Sea, passing through the oceans of dunes in the Empty Quarter.

Competing for BAS World KTM Racing on his KTM-450 motorcycle as a privateer rather than a factory rider, Cox was elated with his 3rd year at the Dakar Rally – although his 2023 experience was short-lived. The resident from Cato Ridge in KZN said this was an opportunity to ‘set the record straight’.

The ex-KTM factory rider said: “Dakar this year was amazing. I came in with big expectations and quite a bit of pressure because I’d done really well at the end of the 2023 season and the World Rally Championship rounds.

The setback in 2023 – crashing and dislocating my elbow on day one – meant I was coming to set the record straight, which I did. I put good stages together where I was fighting inside of the top 10, finishing 3 times in the top 10 overall stages, and once in the top 5 overall stage.”

Cox said he had lost a bit of time with navigation issues and bike problems in week 1, but a hard year of training saw him overcome this to achieve an amazing result – despite incredibly difficult conditions.

“It’s two long weeks of racing and was the toughest Dakar I’ve done and the toughest some of the more experienced competitors have done. We did massive mileage – over 8 000km racing for over 53 hours – so it was super long days, tough terrain…it was relentless. As a privateer, I also have to fund my way but am lucky I have amazing sponsors that back me, but at the end of the day, you have to put a result on the board so they can continue backing you,” he said.

His Dakar performance continues his impressive streak, having won the last two rounds of the World Rally Championships in the Rally2 division, placing 8th overall. He also clinched his 10th South African Championship in 2023.

“This has set me up nicely for the rest of the year. My goal is to continue competing in the Rally2 World Championships and hopefully take the top spot. Although I’ll have to miss Abu Dhabi because of funding, I will be in the next three rounds after that. The main goal is to get into a factory team,” he said.

Commenting on Cox’s performance, Bart van der Velden, the BAS World KTM Racing team manager said: ”It was really impressive to see the strides he has made in the past few years. From the first rally, we knew that he had riding skills – the only difficult thing for the fast riders is that they have to slow down to learn the navigation and that was challenging. But it was great to see the strides he has made and I see a good future for him. He’s a great guy to work with, it’s a pleasure to have him around.”

Glenn Crompton, vice president of marketing at Toyota SA, an event sponsor, said: “We are immensely proud to be associated with Cox. His third place in Rally2 at the 2024 Dakar was incredible. Toyota SA has been involved with Dakar for 13 years and we know the commitment and effort it takes just to get there, let alone finish and achieve success. We are lucky to have partnered with such a young star and believe that he will continue to succeed in his career. We are happy that we can assist him realise his goals and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

Cox was able to compete with the help of generous sponsors who were committed to backing his racing dream.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like the South Coast Fever’s Facebook page