Cox and Schroeder team up for Dakar

Excitement grows as South Africa’s former Dakar motorcycle hero and proud owner of nine Dakar finisher’s badges, Alfie Cox (RSA), again attempts the world’s most grueling cross-country rally, together with his German race partner Juergen Schroeder (GER) in a PS Laser Racing Nissan Navara.
For many, Cox and Schroeder became examples of determination in last year’s Dakar Rally, starting the event with not the highest-powered, two-wheel-drive car, getting stuck, breaking down, battling out of stages, sleeping out in the dunes next to a broken car, getting a 204 hour time penalty for not finishing a stage on time, fighting through impossible dunes with a slipping clutch, suffering mechanical problems right on the penultimate stage, and yet they stood proud saying: “We will be ready to start and finish the final stage.”
That commitment, perseverance and the stubborn never-give-up attitude was character-building not only for them, but for everyone around them.
This year they go out with the support of Glyn Hall, in one of his 4 liter Navaras, with a six-speed sequential gearbox and state-of-the-art suspension system on the four-wheel-drive machine, now owned by the PS Laser Racing Team, but maintained and supported by Hall Speed’s team of technicians.

Immensely expensive does not do justice to the team’s financial commitment to do this year’s race if you realize that one shock absorber, of which the car has eight, costs R30,000.
“A race-ready Navara is priced at around 3 million South African Rands (398’079 $ US) but Glyn Hall boasts that they manage to build a car in about a 1 000 hours and it costs just over half that of the closest competitor, but it is highly competitive and very reliable.
“Between 2005 and 2008 the Midrand-built Navaras have won the European, Hungarian, Russian, and South African Off-Road racing championships. Most importantly they finished fourth and sixth in last year’s Dakar Rally,” explained Hall.
Cox and Schroeder start the race in an excellent position having done one Dakar and two South African events together this year. They are both fit, strong and mentally-prepared to do well in this event.
Prompted on how he saw their chances, Cox replied: “We are still a young and relatively inexperienced team. This is our first 4×4 and we have a lot to learn. I will contribute everything I can and I have to admire Juergen, he learns extremely fast, but this is only his second Dakar. For the moment our goal is to drive across the podium at the finish, that would be a massive achievement in itself.”

When asked about potential winners, Cox replied; “Mitsubishi is out so we have VW as favorites and they have no team orders this year. Carlos (Sainz of Spain) is hungry for a win after his crash of last year. He has a lot of face to save and definitely would like a winner’s trophy in his trophy cabinet next to his World Rally Champions trophy. Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) has won it last year. He has a lot less pressure and can really enjoy his race this year, often resulting in an even better performance. Stephane Peterhansel (France) is extremely good. He has won the race in bikes and cars, now drives a BMW. No matter what he drives, he must definitely also be a favorite.”
The race starts in Buenos Aires on New Year’s Day, leading in a north-westerly direction to the driest place in the world, the Atacama Desert. Then it cuts across the border into Chile to the rest day at Antofagasta on 9 January. The second half the route takes competitors south down the narrow Chilean countryside, crossing the border after Santiago with four days of specials remaining before the well-deserved finish, 9 000 km later in Buenos Aires on 17 January.

Related posts:

1. Toyota Motorsport and Giniel de Villiers team up for Dakar 2012
2. Exciting and enjoyable Dakar for Team X-Raid
3. French Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel joins Team x-Raid
4. Team X-raid field 4 BMW X3 CC for Dakar
5. Technical expertise in Dakar race environment equals huge publicity

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