De Villiers tastes Dakar triumph

After years of flirting with Dakar success, South Africa’s Giniel De Villiers, rally driver and fine wine connoisseur, was the toast of the world’s most gruelling race on Saturday after winning the 2009 title.

The 36-year-old from the pioneer town of Stellenbosch, 50km from Cape Town and at the centre of the country’s wine producing region, became the first African to win the event.

Ironically, it came in the year when the race, celebrating its 30th birthday, was shifted to South America because of the deteriorating security situation in Mauritania.

BUENOS AIRES, AFP