Spirit of Africa competition winners announced

Juan Grant and Douw Roode received R30 000 for finishing in the second place with 1305 points. Piet and Madelein Kotze finished in the third place with 1280 points and prize money of R20 000.

Nearly 500 teams participated in the 2011 competition, which consisted of two eliminations rounds held in Upington and Kosi Bay.

Sarel van der Merwe was delighted with the level of the competition and group of participants in the 2011 competition.

A new group of participants

"Looking back at the competition from the previous years and especially this year, I realised that Spirit of Africa has certainly attracted a new group of participants. These youngsters between the ages of 21 to 26 bring a whole new dimension to the competition. They are more adventurous and are also an influential group," he explained.

"Previously, we had a more traditional, older group of 4x4 drivers, but this year the competition attracted young drivers. This is very positive for Spirit of Africa because it means we have tapped into a whole new market. It also shows that the competition now appeals to a wider audience. It is good to know that the face of the competition is also changing and becoming more hip, although it does make me feel that I might be getting too old for the game," Van der Merwe added.

Consistently quicker vehicle

The Amarok 2.0 TDI 90kW was the official vehicle for the 2011 competition.

"The highlight for me this year was using the Amarok 90kW. The 90kW was consistently quicker and handled the difficult challenges with ease. It totally dispelled the myth that smaller capacity engines like the 90kW are not powerful enough for serious off-roading," Van der Merwe ended.