The long-awaited Century Property Development – Century Racing Outeniqua 400, the third round of the 2026 SA Rally-Raid Championship that took place in the Upper-Langkloof in the southern Cape’s scenic Garden Route, was convincingly won by Guy Botterill/Henry Köhne (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux IMT EVO) who lead the two-day, 400 kilometre race from start to finish to claim their second consecutive victory this season.
The event was not only characterised by extreme weather conditions that changed from a hot, humid and windless first day to be cold, misty and windy on Saturday, but the route turned out to be a seriously tough and demanding challenge where competitors were faced by technical, rocky and slippery surfaces. The route took competitors and spectators through the low-level valley over the mountains where the aftermath of the recent flooding was still visible.
In the end, Botterill/Köhne posted the fastest times after the 25km Qualifying Race as well as the 95km Stage One on Friday, 28 August and started the first of the two 152km stages on Saturday at the front of the field. The team got the monkey off their back after a disappointing experience last year and kept their noses clean – despite a few bumpy impacts – to win the race in a total time of 05:42:47.
They were three minutes and 33 seconds clear of the 2025 winners, Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid DKR T1+ Evo) who started the final day in fifth position to finish second overall as well as in Ultimate FIA T1+. De Villiers stressed just how rough the route turned out to be and was relieved to finish on the podium.
The overall and class podiums were rounded out by Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (05:51:57) who started the final day from third place. They were the first of the three Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus teams who completed the race. The three Ford teams as well as De Villiers/Murphy encountered a large herd of cattle on Friday’s Stage One and were compensated for lost time.
Danie Ludick/Denzil Williamson finished fourth (05:55:25) followed by Lance Woolridge/André Vermeulen (06:05:51) who lost time with two punctures on the final day. Only one more team in Ultimate FIA T1+ managed to receive the chequered flag – the Dutch newcomers, Michiel Becx/Sander van Barschot who brought their Century Racing CR7 home in sixth place overall (06:14:19).
Disaster struck the Variawa brothers in the TGR Hilux IMT EVO, Saood and Charan Moore and Sa’aad and Oriol Mena Valdearcos with both teams forced to retire on Saturday. Sa’aad/Mena Valdearcos started the second day from second position, a mere 69 seconds behind Botterill/Köhne, but they clipped a rock which resulted in the power steering oil leaking out while Saood/Moore, who started from fifth place, rolled their vehicle and ended up in a shallow water hole. They were pulled onto their wheels by Hennie de Klerk/Carl Swanepoel (Toyota Hilux) who started the day in the top 10 and were second in Ultimate SA T1+, but unfortunately their vehicle later caught fire due to a suspected burst fuel line. Thankfully, the team are safe.
The rest of the overall top 10 included four Ultimate SA T1+ teams with the German driver, Jurgen Schröder and Rikus Fourie (WCT VW Amarok), who stopped to assist the stricken De Klerk/Swanepoel, taking their first class victory of the season (06:18:30). They finished seventh overall and were followed closely by Johan and Sean van Staden (Red-Lined Revo T1+) who overcame being sidelined during the qualifying race by a broken wheel after hitting a rock. They started Stage One on Friday towards the back and battled through the dust, but their perseverance saw them finishing second in Ultimate SA T1+, only 89 seconds behind the class winners.
Philip Botha/Andries Mynhardt (Red-Lined Revo T1+) started the final day as the class leaders and also rendered assistance at the burning car for which they were compensated. They rounded out the class podium (06:25:08) and were ninth overall with Eugene Bierman/Marius Lombard (Century Racing CR6), in their second race of the season, finishing 10th overall and fourth in the class (06:27:41).
Two more teams completed the race to score points in this class. The Dutch couple, Dave and Tessa Klaassen (DaklaPack Rallysport DKR Evo GTR) and their team-mates, Herman Jasper/Markus Laan (DKR Evo 8) were 11th and 12th respectively with Team Klaassen missing the top 10 by a mere 14 seconds (06:27:55) while the newcomer visitors finished in a total time of 06:51:37.
Only three more teams reached the finish line after a race that will be remembered as an extremely rough and challenging event. Werner Mostert and his son, Ian (Moto-Netix Can-Am Maverick) clinched the SxS victory and were 13th overall (07:00:07) while Century Property Development CEO, Mark Corbett and his son, Max, brought their brand-new Century Racing CRX home in 14th place overall finishing on the top step of the Challenger Class podium (07:02:40).
It was a tough race for Nielen Marx/Rikus Hattingh (Red-Lined VK50) who were the only finishers in the Adventurer Class. They had a long day ahead of them as they started the final day from the back of the field, but a determined drive saw them being rewarded by their first-class victory of the season (07:26:30). The early class leaders, Peet Victor/VanZyl Jonck (VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Red-Lined VK50) as well as Tokkie Ferreira/Nardus Janse van Rensburg (Ford Ranger) could not complete the full race distance.
Some of the other major casualties include Jayden Els/Johann Swemmer (Century Racing Factory CR7) who started the final day in 10th place after not being able to complete the qualifier and having to start Stage One at the back of the field. Lood du Preez/Adriaan Roets (Farmers Meat Century Racing CR6) also had to call it a day on Stage Two while Geoff Minnitt/Leander Pienaar (Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am Maverick) and Henk Klaassen/Sasha Siripanyavuthi (DaklaPack Rallysport Taurus T3 Max), who started Saturday from 11th place, experienced problems during the final stage.
With only two races remaining in the 2026 season, teams will return to the drawing board to be ready for the penultimate event the VAPS HCV Vryheid 400 on 9 and 10 October.
Published by: Charmaine Fortune
Photography by: Waldo van der Waal
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