A quality field of local and international teams have entered for the upcoming Century Property Developments/Century Racing Outeniqua 600, the opening round of the 2026 SA Rally-Raid Championship that will take place over three days on 8, 9 and 10 May from Louvain Guest Farm nestled between George and Uniondale in the Upper Langkloof in the Western Cape’s scenic Garden Route.
With the year already entering the halfway mark, competitors are excited to get their championship chase off the ground as the initial opening race scheduled for March, was postponed due to Foot-and-Mouth Disease. And with the Century Property Developments/Century Racing Outeniqua 600 Endurance Race now stretching over three days, teams will not only be tested over a total of approximately 640 kilometres competing in an event that was voted by the competitors as their favourite race of 2025, but they will also bag points-and- a-half upon completion of the event that will serve as a solid foundation for the rest of the season.
The entry list brims with familiar faces as well as new team combinations and vehicles and no less than 11 international competitors. The event will also form the third and fourth rounds of the Eastern Cape Off-Road Club Championship that will add yet another aspect to the proceedings.
The defending SARR champions, Saood Variawa and his French navigator, Francois Cazalet (Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux IMT EVO), will be back in action and will hope for better luck this time around in the Upper Langkloof – as will their team-mates, Guy Botterill and his Spanish navigator, Oriol Mena Valdearcos. Both teams will be looking to lead rather than to make up for lost time like they had to do last year after they ran into some difficulties early in the race. Also, in the TGR team, is Saood’s younger brother, Sa’aad, who will have the experienced navigator, Wade Harris, reading him the notes. Sa’aad competed in the last two SARRC rounds of 2025 and the team will aim to get their season off on a high note.
Two #TeamHilux Rally-Raid teams will again compete in the Ultimate FIA T1+ Class. The winners of the inaugural Outeniqua event, former multiple champions, Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy (DKR Hilux T1+ EVO) will be looking to claim gold at De Villiers’ ‘home’ event while the Blignaut brothers, Fouche and Bertus, will be out to better their 2025 result.
Ford will also be out in full force with no less than five Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid teams in this extremely competitive class. This group includes former champions, Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer (NWM Ford Evo Plus) who have a score to settle after finishing second last year, a mere 60 seconds behind the winners after a tough battle. Their Brazilian team-mates, Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea were third here last year and were outspoken about enjoying the event and are back for more of the same.
Also, under the Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid umbrella are regulars Wors Prinsloo/André Vermeulen who will hope for a trouble-free outing this time while Danie Ludick and Denzil Williamson will put their brand-new NWM Ford Evo Plus to the test for its first national event. The Ford team also welcomes the father and son pairing of Michael and Luke Lawlor for who the Outeniqua event will be a first experience.
The event sponsor, Century Property Developments and Century Racing, will be represented by two teams in this class. It will be a first racing experience in the area for both Brian Baragwanath/Leonard Cremer (Century Racing CR7) and the Dutch duo, Rik van den Brink/Gydo Heimans (Brinky Rally Sport Century Racing CR7) who have competed on a regular basis in South Africa.
Youngsters Jayden Els and Johann Swemmer (Red-Lined REVO T1+ GTR) will also give this event another go hoping for better luck than last year.
In the Ultimate SA T1+ Class, the entries not only show a variety of vehicle manufacturers, but also various new teams who are ready for the challenge. The 2025 Adventurer Class champions, Johan and Sean van Staden, have moved to the Ultimate SA T1+ Class and their weapon of choice is a Red-Lined Revo T1+ while the Dutch couple, Dave and Tessa Klaassen (DaklaPack Rallysport Red-Lined Revo GTR) are also ready for another helping of the action.
Three Century Racing vehicles will compete in this class. The CEO of Century Property Developments and a competitor for three decades, Mark Corbett, will make a welcome comeback in the driver seat of the Century Factory Racing CR6-T with his longtime friend and navigator, Juan Möhr and his son, Max sharing the seat next to him. Eugene Bierman/Marius Lombard as well as Lood du Preez/Adriaan Roets (Farmers Meat CR6) will also be first time entries in this event.
Two WCT-prepared vehicles will also travel to the Garden Route. Gary Bertholdt/Henry Köhne will be in action in their Toyota Hilux T1+ while the German driver, Jurgen Schröder and Rikus Fourie will be in Schröder’s trusty VW Amarok. Fourie navigated for Bertholdt at this event last year, but the team could not see out the distance. It will be a first for Schröder.
In the Adventurer Class, three Ford Rangers will be in the field. Martin van der Vyver/Rikus Hatting as well as Tokkie Ferreira/Nardus Janse van Rensburg and Jan Rose/Arno Olivier (Ford V8) will be looking to earn maximum points.
The defending Challenger Class champion, the young Dutch driver, Henk Klaassen, and lady navigator, Sasha Siripanyavuthi (DaklaPack Rallysport Taurus T3Max) who has been reading him the notes at a few international races, will be joining in the fun. Klaassen finished in the overall top 10 last year in the Upper Langkloof and will be looking for another good result. They will be joined by Stellenbosch lady driver and 2025 SARRC Challenger drivers’ champion Puck Klaassen with navigator still to be announced.
Former navigators’ champion, Leander Pienaar, just can’t seem to stay away and will be in the navigator seat reading the notes to Geoff Minnitt (Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am Maverick R) in the SSV Class.
Six teams have entered the Eastern Cape Off-Road Club Championship event and the older, albeit capable, vehicles will add to the action during the weekend.
The Century Property Developments/Century Racing Outeniqua 600 will get underway with a 55 kilometre Qualifying Race on Friday, 8 May at 09:30 that will determine the starting order for Stage One, a 109 kilometre section that will start at 13:00. The racing will commence again on Saturday when the teams depart for Stage Two at 08:30. This stage will comprise185 kilometres and on completion, teams will stop for a 30 minute service break at the Designated Service Point (DSP) at Louvain Guest Farm before taking on the stage for a second time.
On Sunday, they will start Stage Four, a repeat of Stage One, at 08:30. The Start/Finish as well as Race Headquarters, DPS and the VIP hospitality area will be at Louvain Guest Farm, just off the N9 halfway between George and Uniondale while the race can be followed via the RallySafe App with various spectacular vantage points along the route or on Facebook: @sarallyraidchampionship; Instagram: @sarallyraidchampionship; Tik Tok: @sarallyraid and YouTube: @SouthAfricanRallyRaidSARRC
Published by: Charmaine Fortune
Photography by: Dave Ledbitter
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