Giniel de Villiers is a South African racing and rally driver, best known for winning the 2009 Dakar Rally.
Giniel de Villiers
The 2009 Dakar Rally was the 31st running of the Dakar Rally. In addition to motorcycle, automobile, and truck categories, a separate quad class was added for the first time. The race began on 3 January 2009, and took place across Argentina and Chile. The rally was for the first time to take place outside of Europe and Africa as the location was changed by organizers due to concerns about possible terrorist attacks that resulted in the moving of the 2008 edition from the traditional route to Senegal to Hungary and Romania in the spring.
Cars before the event began
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meets with the KAMAZ-Master team at the Moscow Kremlin on 28 January 2009.
The quad class winner J. Macháček (CZE) driving Yamaha.
The car category winners G. De Villiers (RSA) and D. von Zitzewitz (GER) in Volkswagen.