The anticipation of the world’s best rally-raid teams competing in the first-ever South African Safari Rally, brought to you by Toyota Gazoo Racing, is building at a rapid pace. It’s now less than a month before the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) descends on South Africa, as the country will host round three of the championship from 18-24 May 2025 at the Sun City resort in the North West Province.
The South African Safari Rally is guaranteed to thrill motorsport fans as the leading W2RC competitors in the car category, and the stars of the motorcycle and quad classes have confirmed their places on the starting line-up for this event.
“We have seen an influx of entries since the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in February, and are encouraged by the huge interest and enthusiastic support the South African Safari Rally has received from manufacturers, competitors, rally-raid fans and the media, both locally and internationally,” said Archie Rutherford, CEO of the South African Safari Rally.
“We have an amazing line-up of W2RC and Dakar Rally champions and many other top-tier competitors in the car and bike categories coming to race here, and we are ready to showcase the wonderful landscapes and the rich heritage that South Africa has in rally-raid competition,” Rutherford said. “With entries closing on 30 April 2025, there’s very little time left for aspiring competitors to secure their place in this amazing event, and be part of making history at the first W2RC event to be staged in Southern Africa.”
The South African Safari Rally is scheduled to cover approximately 2 600 km, of which more than
1 200 km will be competitive stages. The action commences with a prologue near Sun City on Monday 19 May to determine the starting order, followed by five competitive stages. This includes a tough two-day marathon stage on 21 and 22 May, with the remote overnight bivouac near the small farming town of Stella requiring the crews to camp in the wild with no service assistance.
Classes
The Ultimate class is the premier car category in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, featuring specialised four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive prototype vehicles designed to conquer the toughest terrain at astonishing speeds. There are currently 36 registered crews on the provisional entry list encompassing the top international W2RC teams including Toyota Gazoo Racing, Overdrive Racing, Dacia Sandriders, X-Raid MINI JCW, Ford M-Sport and Team STR.
Fans can look forward to seeing their heroes in action including reigning W2RC champion and five-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar), who finished fourth at this year’s Dakar and won the preceding Abu Dhabi race along with French navigator Edouard Boulanger in their Dacia, placing them in the championship lead heading into round three.
They will be joined by the formidable all-Spanish Ford M-Sport line-up comprising four-time Dakar winner Carlos Sainz and navigator Lucas Cruz, along with team-mates Nani Roma and navigator Alex Haro. Roma is one of only two people who have won the Dakar Rally on both two and four wheels – the other being Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel.
There’s a strong contingent of South African-based teams too, several of which also compete in the World Rally-Raid Championship and the Dakar Rally – and they are all eager to prove their mettle on home soil. This includes crews from Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, Red-Lined Motorsport, Century Racing, the Schröder WCT team, #TeamHilux, Neil Woolridge Motorsport and King Price Extreme.
In the Challenger class, which is based on lightweight prototype vehicles, there are currently 11 confirmed entries thus far for the South African Safari Rally. This includes three Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team entries competing with the BBR Motorsport Taurus T3 Max, headlined by Dakar Rally class winners Nicolas Cavigliasso and navigator Valentina Pertegari (Argentina). They will be joined by team-mates Pau Navarro (Spain) and navigator Lisandro Sisterna (Argentina) who finished third at Dakar and second in Abu Dhabi and currently lead the championship. A trio of G Rally Team OT3 crews will be going up against them, including the South African team of Puck Klaassen and Charan Moore.
The compact and agile SSV (side-by-side vehicle) class is made up of nine entries at present. The Portuguese team of Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliviera top the points table in the SSV class after finishing third at the Dakar Rally and sixth in Abu Dhabi, and they will be aiming to extend their championship lead in the Can-Am Maverick R. Italian driver Enrico Gaspari is hot on their heels in second place after finishing second in round two, with his navigator still to be confirmed for this event.
Motorcycles
The provisional entry list in the Bikes is no less impressive, as all of the front runners in the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship are lined up for the South African Safari Rally, covering no less than 35 competitors and seven major motorcycle brands: Hero, KTM, Honda, GasGas, Husqvarna, Sherco and Kove.
Having won both of the opening W2RC rounds overall and in the top-level Rally GP class this year, Australian rider Daniel Sanders is sure to be a top contender for the South African race on his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450. He will be up against eight Rally GP rivals, including local crowd favourite and reigning W2RC champion Ross Branch from neighbouring Botswana on his Hero Motosports Team Rally 450. Branch withdrew from this year’s Dakar Rally due to injury, followed by a mechanical issue that saw him retire from the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, so he will be fighting for a strong finish at what is essentially his home race.
In the Rally 2 class, South African rider Michael Doherty is second in the championship on his BAS World KTM Racing 450 after finishing fifth at the Dakar Rally and winning the Abu Dhabi round. Accordingly, his goal will be to make up points on current leader and team-mate Tobias Ebster (Austria) who hasn’t yet confirmed his participation in the South African Safari Rally.
The Original by Motul class, or Malle Moto as it’s commonly known, is for the die-hard motorcyclists who compete without any assistance. Three brave riders from France and one each from India and South Africa have confirmed their entries for this tough challenge on their Rally 2-specification bikes.
In the Quad category seven international riders and one South African have entered the South African Safari Rally, and will be going head-to-head in the search for glory. With no quad class at this year’s Dakar Rally, the battle will be between the top three finishers in Abu Dhabi, led by race winner Antanas Kanopkinas (Lithuania) and second-placed CFMoto Thunder Racing team-mate Gaetan Martinez (France), with podium finisher Marek Loj (Poland) sure to be challenging for the win on his Yamaha 700 Raptor.
The closing date for South African Safari Rally entries is 30 April 2025.
