Road Safety Blog

Final two rounds of 2025 SA Rally-Raid Championship will be nerve-wracking as anything can still happen in the title chase

jonckie

The picturesque Outeniqua 400, round four of the 2025 SA Rally-Raid Championship that took place in the Garden Route in the Western Cape, had competitors in awe, but the outcome of the event predicts the final two rounds of the season will be nerve-wracking as anything can still happen in the title chase.

One thing is certain – teams and their crews will feel the pressure and will have to be 110% prepared while they keep their fingers crossed for luck to be on their side if they wish to celebrate the season as champions.

The overall standings changed after the Outeniqua 400, and although Saood Variawa/Francois Cazalet (Toyota Gazoo Racing) are still the leaders despite a disappointing outing. They have accumulated a total of 80 points, but a podium result for Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid) and the healthy helping of points that went with it, saw the former champions close the gap to a mere four points. And with Giniel de Villiers (#Team-Hilux Rally-Raid) making use of two navigators, the podium for the Overall Drivers’ Championship could have a sting in the tail.

By winning the Western Cape event, De Villiers and Dennis Murphy claimed their first victory of the season moving De Villiers onto the third step of the drivers’ podium, trailing Woolridge by eight points with Guy Botterill (TGR) dropping off the podium and into fourth place (55 points) after a problematic visit to the George area. Behind them, a third place at the Outeniqua 400 elevated the Brazilian, Marcos Baumgart (Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid) to fifth in the overall standings (43 points) while Fouché Blignaut (#TeamHilux RallyRaid) also moved up a position to sixth (39 points).

Blignaut overtook Marko Himmel (Red-Lined Navara Evo ) who dropped to seventh place overall (34 points) with Johan van Staden (Renault Duster) jumping two positions to eighth overall (31 points) demoting Wors Prinsloo (Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid), who could not see out the distance, to ninth (23 points) with Gary Bertholdt (Toyota Hilux), who could also not finish the Outeniqua 400, rounding out the top 10 (22 points).

And like the drivers, the gaps in the Overall Navigators’ Championship also means the standings could change at the drop of a hat.

Botterill’s navigator, Mena Valdearcos (55 points), kept his third place behind Cazalet and Dreyer, but Murphy jumped from 10th to fourth place from where he now trails the Spaniard by a mere five points. He has a little breather to Fouché’s brother and navigator, Bertus (39 points) in fifth place while Bertholdt’s navigator in his first outing, Henry Köhne, who missed the fourth round due to international obligations, dropped to sixth place, a mere two points behind the #TeamHilux RallyRaid navigator. He is, however, also only two points ahead of André Vermeulen, who sits next to Prinsloo, but scored points navigating for Lance Woolridge at the season opener in Prinsloo’s absence.

Himmel’s navigator, Francois Schoonbee is currently eighth (34 points), one point behind Vermeulen with Baumgart’s regular navigator, Kleber Cincea, in ninth (27 points) after missing the second and third rounds and Werner Horn, who navigates for brother, Johan (#TeamHilux Toyota) in 10th place with 21 points. Johan is 11th overall among the drivers (21 points).

The battles in the various class championships have also reached boiling point with minimal points separating competitors. And with competitors receiving five points for starting a race, the difference in points makes for interesting reading. In the Ultimate FIA T1+ Championship, Variawa/Cazalet will feel the pressure in the lead (100 points) as they are only four points clear of Woolridge/Dreyer (96 points) who moved up into second place.

Looking at the Ultimate FIA T1+ Drivers’ Championship, De Villiers, level pegging with Woolridge is on the podium with 96 points meaning a blanket of only four points covers the leading three drivers. Botterill (87 points) dropped to fourth place but is not too far behind with Fouché Blignaut (74 points) in fifth place, leading Baumgart in sixth by a mere four points. The rest of the top 10 consists of Prinsloo (42 points) in seventh; Jayden Els (Red-Lined Motorsport) in eighth (37 points); the Dutch driver, Dave Klaassen (Daklapack Rallysport Revo), who moved to the Ultimate SA T1+ Class for the Outeniqua 400, in ninth (32 points) and the German driver, Daniel Schröder (WCT Nissan), who only competed in the season opener, 10th (20 points).

In the Ultimate FIA T1+ Navigators’ Championship, Valdearcos (87 points) dropped to third place while Bertus Blignaut (74 points) remained in fourth place from where he now leads his team-mate, Murphy, by a single point. Vermeulen is sixth (59 points) with a safety net of 21 points to Cincea (38 points) in seventh with Els’s navigator, Johan Swemmer only a single point adrift (37 points) in eighth place. Klaassen’s wife and navigator, Tessa, has the same points (32) as Alberto Neto, who stood in for Cincea.

Himmel and Schoonbee (106 points) retain their lead in the Ultimate SA T1+ Championship – they are the only team in the class to have started and completed each race so far this season – but behind them, the standings have changed. A class victory at the Outeniqua event for Philip Botha/Andries Mynhardt (Red-Lined Motorsport) rocketed the team from sixth to second (72 points) from where they now lead the Horn brothers, albeit by a single point. Neither team are safe as Bertholdt (68 points) and Köhne (63 points), who dropped from their runners-up position to fourth, are still within striking distance. Danie Ludick/Denzil Williamson (Red-Lined Motorsport) are fifth (59 points) with the rest somewhat further back.

Only two competitors in the Adventurer Class have competed – and completed – every race so far this season. They are the two leading drivers, Johan van Staden (Renault Duster) and Johan de Bruyn (Red-Lined Revo T1) and with four class wins, Van Staden (96 points) leads the drivers’ standings from De Bruyn (78 points) in second. The rest of the drivers competed on and off with Peet Victor (VAPS HCV Rally-Raid) rounding off the podium (23 points).

Regarding the navigators, the consistent accumulation of points places Roets in the lead (78 points) with Sandra Labuscagne, who stood in for Sean van Staden next to Johan for the second and third rounds, currently second (51 points) and Van Staden (45 points) on the third step of the podium. Victor’s navigator, VanZyl Jonck is fourth (23 points).

In the Challenger Class, Henk Klaassen (Daklapack Rallysport) kept his lead in the drivers’ championship (49 points) followed by Puck Klaassen (GRally OT3) with 32 points. Gerhard Schutte, who navigated for both Henk and his brother, Pim, leads the navigator standings (54 points) with Puck’s navigator, Danie Stassen (32 points) in second place.
Geoff Minnitt/Rodney Burke (Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am) lead the SSV Class and both have 25 points.

TGR / SVR lead the Constructors championship (293 points) from NWM (154 points) and Red-Lined (132 points) in third place. WCT (17 points) is fourth followed by Taurus (13 points).
Teams are now gearing up for the fifth and penultimate round of the SA Rally-Raid Championship that takes place on 31 October and 1 November in Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal.

Images: Dave Ledbitter

Exit mobile version