Hosted by racing legend Sarel van der Merwe, the annual Spirit of Africa Competition is one of the toughest off-road challenges. Participants get to test their own 4x4 skills against the toughest African conditions and other serious 4x4 teams. Nearly 500 teams participated in the 2011 competition, which consisted of two eliminations rounds held in Upington and Kosi Bay.

Christiaan Otto and Marius Welgemoed made it two in a row for the Amarok when they were crowned the 2011 Spirit of Africa champions in Bilene, Mozambique. The pair previously won the 2010 competition at the finals held in Namibia and defended their crown by skilfully mastering the challenging course which demanded precise driving and total concentration. With a total of 1495 points, they earned the title of Spirit of Africa champions, as well as R50,000 in prize money.

Juan Grant and Douw Roode received R30,000 for finishing in second place with 1305 points. Piet and Madelein Kotze finished in third place with 1280 points and received R20,000 in prize money.

The Amarok 2.0 TDI 90kW was the official vehicle for the 2011 competition and passed the gruelling test with flying colours. "The highlight for me this year was using the Amarok 90kW which handled the difficult challenges with ease. It totally dispelled the myth that smaller capacity engines like the 90kW are not powerful enough for serious off-roading", said Sarel.

The 2012 competition is now open for entries and anyone interested should please visit www.amarok.co.za for more details.