T9 bakkie sets new SA 24-hour record

AS SO often happens in South Africa, there’s lots of banter around a braai fire as well as discussions, heated arguments and occasionally, there’s even a challenge thrown in which, more often than not, is forgotten when the fires have died down.

- WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE

This was pretty much the case when adventurer and content creator Danie Botha from Wild in SA and a couple of mates came up with the idea of beating the official South African 24-hour Endurance Record for commercial vehicles.

The challenge

Enter the JAC Motors’ T9 2.0L Cti and 4 084 kilometres later at an average speed of 170.1km/h at Gerotek, just outside Pretoria, that record is now held by a Chinese bakkie.

The 15-year-old record was previously held by Isuzu with their KB300 TDi averaging 169.3km/h and covering 4 063 kilometres in 24 hours.