Treacherous savannah terrain, more mud than expected and navigational vulnerabilities were the elements that made for a thrilling Stage 1 at the South African Safari Rally, brought to you by Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Nearly a fifth of the opening Selective Section (competitive stage) was ‘savannah’, the wild grass terrain which had intimidated some of the best World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) teams during the prologue. For the bikers, the savannah grass terrain had the risk of hidden rocks and ruts, while international car teams struggled to judge terrain feedback and braking distances on the slippery savannah wild grass sections.
Demanding navigation for the riders
With high speeds and demanding navigation, the bikers were always at risk of overshooting junctions and sharp corners, losing precious time, missing waypoints – or worse, risking damage with unyielding African bushveld trees.
Slippery conditions and navigational errors proved costly for prologue winner and current W2RC championship leader, Australia’s Daniel Sanders, on his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450, having to settle for fourth. “There were a lot of rocks in the cut grass sections. We got lost a fair bit in the beginning, but my pace relative to the others was very good. You think it’s easy navigation on fields and farms, but the slippery conditions distract you, and then you make navigation mistakes,” Sanders said.
Botswana’s Ross Branch took the Stage 1 win, after Sanders and Monster Energy Honda HRC rider, American Ricky Brabec, were penalised for navigational issues. His French team-mate, Adrien Van Beveren, was second.
Like his rivals, Branch struggled with navigation and an unforeseen issue of opening gates that had inadvertently been closed between the front sweepers and lead bikers, for which riders were time-credited after the stage. “I loved being on my bike today, even though I got lost a few times in the first 17 km. I’m just happy to see I still have the speed after a few rough months, and it was great to experience so many spectators out on the route,” he said.
Honda’s Brabec was surprised by the tight, technical terrain and risk of animals during the prologue, but the 2020 Dakar Rally winner had done what all great riders are capable of – and found speed in unfamiliar conditions without issue.
“It was pretty fun across those grass fields for the first 20 km. I’m not used to it, and it’s very slippery, but it wasn’t too dusty, so catching guys ahead wasn’t difficult,” Brabec said. “The wind worked to keep dust away, and there was mud and more wet ground than I thought there would be.”
Canet on top in Rally2, Docherty recovers from challenging start
Spain’s Edgar Canet won the Rally2 bike class for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, besting Austrian Tobias Ebster, in second, on the factory Hero Motosport Team Rally bike, with Poland’s Konrad Dabrowski in third for BAS World KTM Team.
South Africa’s Michael Docherty had a horrible start, but the Rally2 prologue winner and KTM rider overcame illness and dramatic in-stage crashes to finish fourth, with several time penalties dropping him from first in the initial classification. “I felt sick this morning and missed my start time. About 10 km in, I had a high-speed front-end tuck and crashed. Then I had a much bigger crash on a rain rut at 120 km/h, getting high-sided off the bike, but I’m fine,” he said.
The indestructible South African needs only one more stage win in the W2RC Rally2 category to tie with France’s Romain Dumontier on 25 stage victories. Unchallenged in the Rally2 class since the Dakar in January, Docherty’s speed and home terrain advantage create the possibility that he could finish the South African Safari Rally as the winningest W2RC rider.
In the quads, France’s Gaëtan Martinez took a dominant stage 1 win for CFMoto Thunder Racing by nearly 27 minutes.
A 70th win for Toyota
The W2RC car category delivered a thrilling Stage 1, with the eventual podium featuring three manufacturers – Toyota, Ford, and Dacia.
After months of downtime, 2025 Dakar runner-up Henk Lategan is revelling being back in a Hilux and racing in terrain near his home. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver and his navigator, Brett Cummings, set the pace throughout Stage 1 to take the win. It was the South African pairing’s third stage win in W2RC racing and Toyota’s 70th.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in one of these cars. To be racing against the best, at home, and be on pace is really special,” he said. “Brett did a great job with navigation, too, which was very tricky, and we managed to pass a few cars on stage.”
Five-time Dakar winner and two-time WRC driver’s champion, Spain’s Carlos Sainz, was second overall in the Ford M-Sport Raptor, with navigator Lucas Cruz.
Rally icon makes a comeback
South African rally-raid fans have a lot of expectations for France’s Sébastien Loeb and his Belgian navigator, Fabian Lurquin. Despite having to drive the route at its slipperiest as the first car on the road for the 260 km Stage 1 after a difficult prologue the day before, Loeb showed his renowned speed and car control to bring the Dacia Sandriders entry home comfortably in third position without any damage. “We were opening and very focused on navigation, because we could see the bikes had made some mistakes,” he said. “The grip in the grass is very low, but we didn’t find the route as narrow as in the prologue. Lategan was very fast, but we knew he would be.”
W2RC championship leader and one of the few international drivers with experience of South African conditions, Nasser Al Attiyah, and navigator Edouard Boulanger, finished eighth. “It was a good day to learn the terrain, but the navigation is difficult, with no sense of reference or lines to follow. Lots of dust, very little room to overtake, and many gates to pass through, so it’s not worth taking a risk. We’ll change the car set-up a bit for tomorrow,” he indicated.
The South African Safari Rally’s car category prologue was dominated by young locals who delivered speed, skill, and excellent terrain awareness, but Stage 1 flipped that form book. Prologue winners Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer could only manage 12th in their NWM Evo Plus. Prologue third-place finishers Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy in their Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA) Hilux ended Stage 1 in 34th, having picked up a 15-minute penalty for missing a waypoint. Several other teams incurred similar penalties, while others were penalised for speeding in restricted zones, either in the stage or on the liaison sections – including Saood Variawa and François Cazalet in the second TGRSA Hilux, who are now 21st overall.
Stage 2 will be the first phase of the South African Safari Rally’s marathon stage, linked with Stage 3, and featuring a remote bivouac away from the primary race hub in Sun City. Riders, drivers and navigators are responsible for all vehicle maintenance at this overnight bivouac between these two long and tough stages – making it a punishing test of endurance for the competitors and their machines.
Any accidents, incidents or mechanical issues on Stage 2 could create issues into Stage 3 without a complete technical service team’s support. Branch, Lategan, and Cummings will be first on the route for the bikes and cars on stage 2. At 356 km of timed special stage, day three of the South African Safari Rally will reveal more of the event’s demanding African savannah and prove why it’s true to the spirit of W2RC racing.
* All results provisional
