The 2025 SA Rally-Raid Championship picked up speed during the second half of the year, with the first four of the six rounds of the championship spread over just 11 weeks, there was no time to rest. To add to the strenuous situation, the extremely close racing resulted in minimal points separating teams in the overall as well as the various class championships. This scenario sets the stage for an exciting final round of the series where the pressure will be on competitors and their support and technical teams to deliver the goods when it counts.
The recent VAPS HCV Vryheid 400, the fifth and penultimate round of the championship, proved to be a seriously tough challenge where a demanding route combined with extreme weather conditions tested competitors and their racing machines as well as the nerves of those watching and waiting in anticipation.
In the end, it was Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid Team ) who led from start to finish to claim their second victory of the season and in doing so, brushed past the previous overall leaders, Saood Variawa/Francois Cazalet (Toyota Gazoo Racing) who finished second behind Woolridge/Dreyer after also having to settle for the runner-up position behind them at the season opener. Woolridge/Dreyer have accumulated a total of 106 points in the overall standings with Variawa/Cazalet, who won the third round, now trailing them by only three points.
The former multiple drivers’ champion, Giniel de Villiers (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid) and navigator Dennis Murphy are third in the overall standings although a victory and three more podium results for De Villiers (86 points), who made use of two navigators, puts him in the chase for the driver’s title while Murphy, who missed the first round, has 68 points. Behind them, Guy Botterill/Oriol Valdearcos (TGR) both have 64 points after an up and down season that included winning the second round. And although there is a gap of 22 points between De Villiers and Botterill, Valdearcos trails Murphy by only four points in the navigators’ standings and a podium finish after his first season in South Africa, might be just what the Spaniard would like to add to his racing CV.
Changes in the driver and navigator pairings during the season has resulted in the order of the overall standings looking somewhat awkward. In the driver’s standings, the Brazilian driver, Marcos Baumgart (Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid Team) is fifth (55 points) followed by Fouche Blignaut (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid) with 39 points. Blignaut leads his teammate, Johan Horn (36 points) by a marginal three points with single points separating the three drivers behind him. Johan van Staden (Renault Duster) is eighth (35 points); Marko Himmel (Red-Lined Navara) is ninth (34 points) and Wors Prinsloo (Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Team), the only of the top 10 drivers to miss an event, 10th overall (33 points).
Looking at the overall standings between the navigators, Prinsloo’s regular navigator, André֖ Vermeulen, finds himself in fifth place (45 points) after scoring points alongside Lance Woolridge standing in for Prinsloo at the season opener. Blignaut’s brother, Bertus and Baumgart’s regular navigator, Kleber Cincea, who missed two rounds, have both accumulated 39 points while Henry Köhne, who navigated for both Daniel Schröder (WCT Nissan Navara) and Gary Bertholdt (Toyota Hilux), but missed two events, has 37 points. Werner Horn is ninth (36 points) with Himmel’s navigator, Francois Schoonbee 10th on 34 points.
The situation between the front runners in the Ultimate FIA T1+ Championship is similar to the overall standings, as competitors receive five bonus points for starting a race. Here a mere three points separate Woolridge/Dreyer (131 points) from Variawa/Cazalet (128 points) while De Villiers (119 points) is still third in the drivers’ standings and the title could go to any of the three drivers.
Botterill (102 points) is fourth followed by Baumgart (90 points); Blignaut (79 points) and Prinsloo (59 points) in seventh place. Jayden Els (Red-Lined Motorsport) put in some remarkable performances, but could only finish two events this season, which saw him bag 42 points and places him in eighth place with two more international competitors rounding out the top 10 – the Dutch driver, Dave Klaassen (Daklapack Rallysport) is ninth (32 points) after competing in the first three events while Daniel Schröder (20 points) is 10th. His father, Jurgen is 11th (18 points) after competing only twice.
With the musical chairs situation between the navigators in the Ultimate FIA T1+ Championship, Valdearcos is still third (102 points) while Murphy (96 points) overtook Bertus Blignaut (79 points) who is fifth albeit only three points ahead of Vermeulen. The points’ difference is also small enough for the standings to change depending on the results of the final race. Cincea is seventh (58 points) with Els’s navigator, Johann Swemmer in eighth (42 points); Dave’s wife and navigator, Tessa in ninth (32 points) and Alberto Neto, who stood in for Cincea, 10th (32 points).
In the Ultimate SA T1+ Championship, the top five teams stuck with each other and here, putting a wheel wrong could result in a totally different outcome in the standings. Consistency has been the name of the game for Himmel/Schoonbee who still lead the class (123 points) after a victory and three more podium finishes, but the Horn brothers (99 points) are within striking range after scoring two class wins and two more podium results. Philip Botha/Andries Mynhardt (Red-Lined Motorsport) missed the season opener, but made up for it and claimed a class victory while they also stepped onto the podium on two other occasions. They round off the podium with 95 points and can still finish the season as the runners-up.
Their Red-Lined compatriots, Danie Ludick/Denzil Williamson could not finish the third round, but scored consistently and are fourth (79 points) with Bertholdt, who was also a class winner (73 points) and Köhne (63 points) in fifth place.
At the front of the Adventurer Class, Van Staden leads the driver standings (119 points) after winning the class four times. It is, however, not yet over as Johan de Bruyn (Red-Lined Revo), who, like Van Staden, has started and completed all five events so far albeit ridden by bad luck, is currently second, trailing the leader by 21 points and as a maximum of 35 points are available, Van Staden will have to tread lightly if he’d like to wear the crown.
Behind De Bruyn, Nickus Heinlein (Red-Lined VK56) has moved onto the podium in third place (48 points) followed by brother, Gerhard (40 points) and the two VAPS HCV Rally-Raid drivers, Peet Victor (37 points) and Abrie Olivier (32 points) with Martin van der Vyver (Red-Lined Revo) in seventh (27 points).
Van Staden’s regular navigator, son Sean, missed two events resulting in De Bruyn’s navigator, Adriaan Roets (98 points) securing the Adventurer Class Navigators’ Championship for 2025. Van Staden (68 points) is second (his replacement navigator for the two events, Sandra Labuschagne-Jonck, earned 51 points and is currently third), but Nickus Heinlein’s navigator, Jaco Kriel, trails by a few points, not enough for him to feel too safe on the second step of the podium. Gerhard’s dad, Rudi, is fifth (40 points) and also in with a chance to move up while Victor’s navigator, VanZyl Jonck, is sixth (37 points) followed by Iaan Olivier (32 points) who sat next to Abrie.
Henk Klaassen (Daklapack Rallysport) leads the Challenger Class Drivers’ Championship (42 points) from lady driver, Puck Klaassen (32 points) while Gerhard Schutte, who navigated for Henk and his brother Pim leads the navigator standings with 54 points. Puck’s navigator, Danie Stassen, is second (32 points). Geoff Minnitt/Rodney Burke (Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am) lead the SSV Championship.
In the Constructors Standings, TGR / SVR have 358 points followed by NWM (206 points) with Red-Lined (168 points) rounding out the podium. WCT (17 points) are fourth and Taurus (13 points) fifth.
The sixth and final round of the 2025 championship takes place on 21 and 22 November at Koedoeskop School on the outskirts of Thabazimbi where the battles will be finalised before the new champions can celebrate.
Published by: Charmaine Fortune
Photography by: Dave Ledbitter
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