Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) placed its name amongst the legends of international rally-raid competition with an immensely successful inaugural outing for its new NWM Evo Plus at the first-ever South African Safari Rally in May 2025, which formed Round 3 of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
The new NWM Evo Plus was revealed just days before the SA Safari Rally, having completed an accelerated testing programme leading up to the punishing six-day event, which covered more than 1 200 km of competitive action and a total distance of almost 2 600 km. Nevertheless, the NWM team – with the support of its major sponsors Castrol and Vedacit – unequivocally proved that it is capable of going head-to-head with, and beating, the giants of the rally-raid world.
With the global spotlight on South Africa’s high-profile debut on the W2RC calendar, 2023 South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC) winners, Gareth Woolridge and navigator Boyd Dreyer, set the early benchmark by winning the short but intense prologue on Monday 19 May. When the dust eventually settled and the sun set on the final day of the SA Safari Rally on Saturday 24 May, Gareth and Boyd drove onto the finishers’ podium at Sun City in an impressive fourth place overall.
“We are thrilled with the performance of our new NWM Evo Plus first time out, showing what it is capable of against the top teams in the World Rally-Raid Championship,” said Neil Woolridge, the founder and director of NWM who has more than three decades of rally-raid experience, including being the first South African to finish the Dakar Rally in the car category, which he achieved in 1999 with third place in the T1 class.
“We completely re-engineered our SARRC title-winning car to realise its full potential within the current W2RC Ultimate (T1+) class regulations, and the team put a huge amount of time and effort into building the cars for the SA Safari Rally. To go up against multiple Dakar Rally and W2RC champions and the big-budget manufacturer-backed teams, and come home with a fourth-place finish, less than five minutes off the winners after more than 1 200km of racing, is a fantastic achievement,” Neil said.
This outstanding result is a testament to NWM’s almost 30 years of experience in the sport, along with its proven expertise in local and international rally-raid competition, and its sheer drive, determination and dedication to excellence.
“The entire team did an amazing job, and it was a real push to get the cars ready for this event, but it paid off. I’m exceptionally proud of this dream result on the first race with the new car,” said Gareth Woolridge, who is not only a championship-winning driver but is also the Technical Head for NWM.
“The big leap in performance, especially with our new suspension, was evident during testing, and it certainly proved its worth during this race which was absolutely flat-out from start to finish. The car was faultless throughout the race, and it was amazing to achieve this great result on home soil in front of our local supporters,” Gareth said.
Bold ambitions, targets achieved
“Our goal with the NWM Evo Plus was to produce a very competitive package that can go up against the top rally-raid teams in the world, and performs well in every type of terrain. We worked hard to incorporate the latest innovations and developments in suspension and drivetrain technologies, and the results at the South African Safari Rally showed that we hit our targets,” said Lance Woolridge, NWM Operations Manager and two-time Class T champion in the South African rally-raid series.
Among the extensive changes incorporated into the new design, the chassis was narrowed and the wheel track widened to the full 2.3 metres, as permitted by the FIA Ultimate regulations. This enabled NWM to widen the control arms by 100mm on either side, with new angled upper and lower control arm mounting points introduced at the front and the rear of the car. Additionally, NWM worked closely with BOS, its suspension partner, to develop a redesigned damper that would take full advantage of the updated suspension configuration.
“Along with the improvements to the chassis, suspension and overall performance of the car, we focused extensively on build quality and reliability,” Lance said. “The NWM Evo Plus performed flawlessly on the SA Safari Rally, which is a major accomplishment on the first outing for a new car.”
The NWM Evo Plus is one of the first rally-raid vehicles to use SADEV’s revolutionary new SP08 differentials. These incorporate an aluminium cast housing, integrated and pressurised internal oil lubrication, an external locking system for the limited-slip differential, a fully adjustable preload system, as well as innovative gear technology that spreads the load to reduce and soften the shock to the entire drivetrain. This significantly improves reliability, even in the harshest racing conditions.
The 3.5L V6 EcoBoost twin-turbocharged petrol engine remains the driving force for the NWM Evo Plus. Coupled with the proven SADEV SC924 Evo gearbox, the engine has been moved back a further 150mm within the newly designed chassis. This allows for an even better centre of gravity and a near-perfect weight distribution within the car.
Customers can also opt for the vehicle to be supplied with a 5.0L V8 Coyote naturally-aspirated engine. This is best suited to competitors who would prefer the ease of maintenance of the simpler powertrain system, as well as those looking to run the vehicle in domestic championships.
“We have proven that the NWM Evo Plus is an extremely competitive package with cutting-edge technologies and outstanding performance. The bonus is that our vehicle offers exceptional value for money, with a price point that rally-raid car manufacturers in other countries simply cannot match,” Lance said. “In a world where racing has become extremely expensive, this makes the NWM Evo Plus a compelling proposition for teams competing at the top level of rally-raid, as well as privateer competitors looking for a car that is both fast and reliable, yet doesn’t cost a fortune to purchase or run.”
Gareth and Boyd, along with Brazilian team-mates Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea, will continue pushing the NWM Evo Plus to the limit as they contest the 2025 South African Rally-Raid Championship. The opening round of the 2025 SARRC is scheduled to take place on 27 and 28 June at Legends Adventure Farm near Pretoria. Heavy rains and flooding delayed the start of the highly competitive South African series, and the teams are eager to kick off the action in earnest.
