Summarize

TreasuryONE Motorsport’s Hennie de Klerk was delighted with progress and a positive result alongside navigator Carl Swanepoel at the Off Road North season opening Biesiesvlei 300 over the weekend. The duo powered the TreasuryONE Hilux home third in class to put memories of a most technically challenging 2025 season behind them as they prepare for an interesting campaign ahead.

“It was a very good weekend overall,” Hennie admitted. “Most importantly, the car ran faultlessly with no mechanical issues. Qualifying didn’t quite go our way. We started 13th but heavy rain hit just as we went out. The road was extremely slippery, visibility was poor, and the windscreen kept fogging up, which made it very challenging.

“The race itself was a different story. With no rain and a large vent cut into the roof to prevent the windscreen from fogging again, we could finally push hard. That’s exactly what we did. We finished 5th overall and 3rd in Class FIA. With the new Can-Ams side-by-sides now allowed an increased 170 km/h top speed, they were simply too quick for us to challenge for an overall podium this time.”

2026 is a fresh start and new year for 2018 Dakar Rookie winner Hennie. Gentleman racer de Klerk, who built his own Hilux with the help of WCT Engineering, has new technical support from LA Sport, a new navigator, Carl Swanepoel, and some interesting plans for the season ahead. “Carl did a great job. His navigation gave me the confidence to push hard from the beginning.” 

“We have a bit of a different plan for the rest of the year and will do the four Off Road Racing Championship races in Botswana starting with the Dakar inspired 2-day Khawa opener in Kgalagadi late in March. These races have lots of sandy sections and small dunes to prepare us for our forthcoming international plans. Can’t wait!”