Dakar 2022 – Kris Meeke replaces Giniel de Villiers

Giniel de Villiers will not be at the start of the next Dakar. Diagnosed positive for coronavirus, the winner of the 2009 edition is asked to stay at home. Too bad: the South African will not be able to improve this impressive statistic: in 18 consecutive participations in the famous rally-raid, he had not recorded the slightest abandonment.

This package, on the other hand, is a godsend for Kris Meeke who discovered the event last January at the wheel of a Zypher T3 Buggy prepared by PH Sport. The Northern Irishman had shone several times before experiencing a lot of mechanical problems.

Conquered by the Dakar, Meeke had not found a steering wheel for this edition. And here he is who is going to pilot a Toyota Official Hilux, the car which is among the favorite vehicles of the Dakar 2022. It is up to him to demonstrate that at almost 42 years old, after having won 5 rounds in WRC, he can begin a fruitful reconversion to rally-raid.