2004 Dakar Rally

By 2004, the entry list had increased to 595, up from 358 in 2001, with a record 688 competitors starting in 2005.

He won the Dakar Rally riding a motorcycle in 2004.

He has won the Dakar Rally driving Kamaz trucks in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2011, becoming the most successful single category pilot in the history of the tournament earning him the nickname "The Tsar of Dakar".

Switching to the factory Mitsubishi team, the pair won the Dakar in 2004, 2005 and 2007 before adding a fourth success in 2012 at the wheel of an X-Raid prepared Mini.

Dakar Rally - competed 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 (3rd in 2WD, 16th in overall ranking) and 2012

He was instrumental in convincing Yamaha to return to Dakar in 2004, when David Frétigné took three stage wins and placed 7th in the final classification.

2004: DAF competed in the Dakar rally, powering six racelorrys. Jan en Gerard de Rooy, the team Tridec, The team Hans Bekx with two trucks and the GINAF Rally Power team (Note that four trucks were built by DAF, two by GINAF).

He finished third in four stages, but could finish no higher than 18th overall, and would retire from the rally in 2004 after suffering head injuries in a crash.

Finishing fifth overall at first attempt alongside navigator Pascal Maimon, de Villiers took his first stage victory in 2004 on the way to seventh overall in the standings (this time alongside François Jordaan) and won two stages in 2005, ending fourth overall (alongside Jean-Marie Lurquin).