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Ari VATANEN
Tiziano SIVIERO
Colin McRAE
Tina THÖRNER
Giniel DE VILLIERS
Jean-Marie LURQUIN
DRIVER
32 years old, born on 25 March 1972 in Robertson
Single
3rd participation in the Dakar
List of awards in the Dakar: 5th in 2003, 7th in 2004 (one victory in a stage)
Rally-raid win: Morocco Rally 2003.
Awards list in motor sport: South African Touring Car Champion in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000; South African Off Road Champion 2001 (Production category).

A loyalist among the loyalists. It’s a love affair between Nissan and Giniel de Villiers that began in 1994 on the South African circuits. That year, his second season in car racing, Giniel took the national title in Group N, at the wheel of a Nissan Sentra. The Nissan-de Villiers partnership has been marked by success on other occasions, with four South African Touring Car Championships with the Primera. Then, in 2001, this man of challenges turned to off-road. His weapon: a Nissan, of course! And there again the pair worked wonders with a national title the first year. Giniel is the one who knows the Nissan Pickup the best because the model used by the faithful South African in the South African branch of the national rally raid championship was the basis for the one involved in the Dakar since 2002. At its wheel the former circuit driver was amazing in his first Dakar, in 2003. After having been at the front of the pack at the beginning of the race, he ended up in a very promising 5th place. A few months later, the South African confirmed his abilities and those of the Pickup by giving Nissan its very first win in a rally raid, in Morocco. Giniel crossed another level in the Dakar 2004. He took a stage and finished the race as the best ranked member of the Nissan Rally-Raid Team. Talented and consistent, he is a sound element on the “Dream Team” that Nissan has lined up to start at the Dakar 2005.
“It seems nice! But it ought to be very difficult. The stages are very long, especially in Mauritania. And then there are those two marathon stages, where you have to link up nearly 1000 kilometres without assistance! That’s going to be a real test, for the men and for the machines, maybe even tougher than the last few years. It’s going to be necessary to approach this race with a great deal of humility. I believe you have to respect the Dakar for it to respect you. We’ll start out as usual. There are no particular tactics for the start. We’ll let things happen at the beginning and afterwards we’ll see what we can do.”
1993 Stannic Group N National Class D Champion  
1994 Nissan Sentra, Class B and SA Production Car Champion  
1995 South African Touring Car Championship - Nissan Sentra  
  International Touring Car event : 2nd and 3rd (against International competitors)  
1996 South African Touring Car Championship - Nissan Sentra  
  South African Rainbow Cup (International Touring Car event) : 2 wins - Nissan Primera  
1997 South African Touring Car Driver Champion - Nissan Primera  
1998 South African Touring Car Driver Champion - Nissan Primera - Awarded National Protea Colours  
1999 South African Touring Car Driver Champion - Nissan Primera  
2000 South African Touring Car Driver Champion - Nissan Primera - Ranked as the world's
most successful Touring Car Driver		  
  National Off Road Championship- Super Production- Nissan Hardbody  
2001 National Off Road Championship - Nissan Hardbody T1  
  National Production Vehicle Champion  
2002 National Off Road Championship - Nissan Hardbody T1  
2003 Dakar : Nissan Pickup - 5th overall classification  
  Rally of Tunisia - Nissan Pickup (World Cup for Cross Country Rallies)  
  Rally of Morocco - Nissan Pickup (World Cup for Cross Country Rallies) -1st overall  
  UAE Desert Challenge - Nissan Pickup (World Cup for Cross Country Rallies)  
2004 Dakar : Nissan Pickup - 7th overall classification  
  National Off Road Championship - Nissan Hardbody 3 wins, 3 podiums.  
  Currently leading the Championship (Overall and Class Championship), which will be decided on Saturday 20 November 2004 at the Carnival City 400.  
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