Spirit of Africa champs chosen
ALWYN Jordaan and Melanie Barnard are the 2015 Spirit of Africa Trophy champions.
The pair, who finished in third position last year, successfully mastered five days of demanding 4x4 driving challenges at the Kwalata Game Reserve in Botswana recently. Alwyn and Melanie took home R50 000 prize money for their achievement.
The top 20 teams that participated in the 2015 finals emerged from nearly 500 teams that competed in the elimination rounds held in Zeerust between April and June this year. The finals were a tense affair with teams competing against each other in 30 technical stages which not only demanded precise driving skills but also total concentration.
This year’s finals had an added incentive for all the participants as each team was also competing for the top five spots to represent their country in the inaugural Spirit of Amarok International 4x4 driving competition in Botswana next month. The top five teams from the Spirit of Africa competition will represent South Africa and compete against five teams from each of the other participating countries - Australia, Botswana and Namibia.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has been sponsoring the Spirit of Africa competition since the local launch of Amarok six years ago. Each year, 23 Amarok double cabs are employed for the competition and this year R100 000 prize money was up for grabs for the top three teams.
The podium was completed by the team of Piet and Benjamin Kotze who received R30 000 for finishing second, and third-placed Theuns Otto and Evert Agenbag who took home R20 000.