The Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400, the sixth and final round of the 2025 SA Rally-Raid Championship that takes place on 21 and 22 November from the Koedoeskop Primary School close to Thabazimbi, will be the final roll of the dice for teams who aim for the titles as well as those who hope to round the season off on a high note and bag maximum points.
Two days of action-packed racing are on the cards for teams, crews and supporters and with just over 100 kilometres of racing planned for Friday followed by approximately 300 kilometres scheduled for Saturday, careful planning, race craft and speed combined with bringing the race vehicles home in one piece will be the priority.
At the front of the field, three teams will battle it out for the Overall SA Rally-Raid Championship title and with four overall 2025 victories between them, one can expect a red-hot chase for victory. The former champions, Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus) have already won twice this season and will arrive at the race as champions elect. They will again be up against Saood Variawa/Francois Cazalet (Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux IMT EVO) who would not only like to round the season off with a second victory, but as they led the standings earlier this season, they would like to do so again and claim their first SARRC title.
Both teams will have to keep an eye on veteran driver, Giniel de Villiers (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid DKR T1+) who is also in with a chance to claim the overall drivers’ title and if he can do so, it will be his fourth SA Rally-Raid title. His navigator, Dennis Murphy, missed the season opener, but more good points can keep him in the running.
These teams will also fight it out for the Ultimate FIA T1+ titles and strategy will be as important as keeping the wheels on the road while luck could play a role in the final outcome.
With not much separating competitors from each other, the results of the rest of the teams could also influence the championship standings. A second victory after an up and down season for Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Guy Botterill/Oriol Valdearcos will not only be the perfect way for them to end the season, but it could keep them in the top five while the Brazilian team of Marcos Baumgart/Kleber Cincea and Wors Prinsloo/Andre Vermeulen (Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus) will also aim to round off good season with more good performances.
Variawa/Cazalet and Botterill/Valdearcos will be supported by two more TGR teams as both Saood’s brother, Sa’aad and Zaheer Bodhanya and the Portuguese team of Joao Ferreira/Filipe Palmeiro, will make a second SARR appearance. The Blignaut brothers, Fouché and Bertus (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid DKR Hilux T1+) will also have the podium on their radar while the luck might just turn for Jayden Els/Johann Swemmer (Red-Lined Motorsport REVO T1+ GTR) who would like nothing more than to finish a race in glory.
Teams in Ultimate SA T1+ are up there with FIA T1+ and as this championship has also not been finalised, intense racing can be expected. Consistency, including a class victory, resulted in the Namibian team of Marko Himmel/Francois Schoonbee (Red-Lined Navara Evo) starting as the current class leaders and although they have opened a small gap to the rest of the field, a mishap could see them loose it all.
A third-class victory will suit the Horn brothers, Johan and Werner (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid Toyota Hilux) to a T and to see the season out as champions – again – will be perfect for their CV’s. Also, in with an outside chance, are Philip Botha/Andries Mynhardt (Red-Lined Revo T1+) who were also victorious this season and are third in the standings.
With five Red-Lined vehicles in the line-up, the Horn brothers will have their work cut out against the very competitive Danie Ludick/Denzil Williamson (Revo T1+); Abrie and Iaan Olivier (VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Revo T1+) and the Dutch couple, Dave and Tessan Klaassen (Daklapack Rallysport Revo GTR) all in Red-Lined vehicles.
Yet another title will go down to the wire as the Adventurer Class crown has also not secured new owners. Johan van Staden and his son, Sean (Renault Duster) will again battle it out with Johan de Bruyn/Adriaan Roets (Red-Lined Revo T1), but due to Sean not filling the navigator seat next to dad Johan twice, Roets currently leads the navigator’s standing in this class while De Bruyn chases Van Staden from his second place in the standings.
Van Staden has won the class on a few occasions this season and if luck turns for De Bruyn/Roets, they could just walk away with their first victory. The Heinlein family are also back in action with Gerhard and dad Rudi (Red-Lined VK56) aiming for a second victory while Nickus Heinlein/Jaco Kriel, winners of the recent VAPS HCV Vryheid 400, in a similar vehicle could keep the family behind them in the standings.
Two more VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Red-Lined vehicles will be on the start-line in this class with Peet Victor/VanZyl Jonck (Red-Lined VK50-2) in their third outing while Tyler Botha/Kyle Lotter (VK50-1) will make their debut.
In Challenger, Pim Klaassen and navigator, Gerhard Schutte, will be having fun in the Taurus T3Max while Geoff Minnitt/Rodney Burke (Hydro Power Equipment Maverick R XRS) will be joining them.
The routes for the Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400 in the Thabazimbi area will mostly comprise game farm roads that are unique with winding tracks that open and tighten through the bushveld. This, together with the open savanna areas, offers a good variation and with weather forecasts predicting either very hot or very wet conditions, anything can be expected.
The action will start on Friday at 09:30 with the 22km Falken Wild Peak Prologue to determine the starting order for Stage One consisting of 87 racing kilometres that will follow at 13:00. The combined results will determine the starting positions for Stage Two on Saturday when the leading team will take on the 184km section at 08:30. They will return to the Designated Service Point (DSP) before taking on the third and final stage of 87 racing kilometres.
Koedoeskop Primary School will be the centre of the action with the Start/Finish, DSP and Race Headquarters all situated at the school. Spectators are welcome to visit DSP and enjoy the hospitality of the local community.
Enthusiasts will be able to follow the racing action from vantage points along the route.
Information will be available on the RallySafe App which can be downloaded free from the Apple Store and Google Play Store or follow the action on the social media platforms – Facebook: @sarallyraidchampionship; Instagram: @sarallyraidchampionship and YouTube: @SouthAfricanRallyRaidSARRC
Published by: Charmaine Fortune
Photography by: Dave Ledbitter
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