Giniel de Villiers

Giniel de Villiers ( born March 25, 1972 in Robertson, South Africa) is a South African racing driver and marathon rally driver.

1993 denied de Villiers first touring car races in South Africa. In 1994 he won the South African Production Car Championship. From 1997 to 2000 he was South African touring car champion. In 2000 he was South African off-road champion, a year later in the production car class.

Since 2003, Giniel de Villiers takes part in marathon rallies. In the Nissan factory team in 2003, he was fifth in the Dakar Rally and won the Morocco Rally. In 2004 he finished the Dakar Rally in seventh place, one year later than fourth. In May 2005 he moved to Volkswagen Motorsport and travels since a VW Race Touareg. He started with his new team with second places in the Morocco Rally and the Rally d' Orient. During the Dakar Rally 2006, he was beaten only by Stéphane Peterhansel. In the same year he won the Rally Transsiberico and the Morocco Rally. In 2007, de Villiers could regain the Morocco Rally. The 2007 Dakar Rally, he finished only eleventh, but reached four stage wins. He completed the Marathon Rally World Cup starting in second place. In 2008 he won the Rally dos Sertões. He also participated on a new VW Scirocco at the 24-hour Nürburgring race and finished 15th overall. During the Dakar Rally 2009, he succeeded for the first time with co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz the overall victory. Thus, de Villiers is the first African and also the first driver of a diesel vehicle that could win this rally. In the 2011 Dakar Rally de Villiers reached the second place.

2012 and 2013 took Giniel de Villiers and his co - driver Dirk von Zitzewitz with a Toyota Hilux Double Cab Pickup for the team Toyota South Africa in the Dakar Rally in part. During the Dakar Rally 2013, both again achieved second place.