After a week’s racing in the bushveld and savannah of South Africa’s North West province, it all came down to the final phase of the last stage, to decide the overall win at the first-ever South African Safari Rally, brought to you by Toyota Gazoo Racing.
The start of Stage 5, the final test for the crews after almost 1 100 km of extremely tight rally-raid action, saw South Africa’s Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings, in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux, holding a slim 39-second margin over France’s Sébastien Loeb, guided by Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin, in their Dacia Sandriders entry.
During the final racing stage of just over 100 km, a margin of 39 seconds wasn’t much, especially considering Loeb’s skill at sprint stage racing, evidenced by his all-time record of nine WRC driver’s championships. Lategan’s W2RC off road racing skill and speed are inarguable, and the 2025 Dakar Rally runner-up and multiple South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC) winner proved his driving skills and nerve on the final stage.
It’s been a testing first half of the season for the South African, who hasn’t had a W2RC drive since finishing second at this year’s Dakar Rally in January. Lategan converted all the pressure and expectations to performance, when it mattered.
Over the final stage distance, sliding, churning and navigating North West dust, Lategan and Cummings took the inaugural South African Safari Rally overall win in their Hilux, finishing third for the day, which secured their overall win. It was the first W2RC event win for Lategan and Cummings, made all the more special on home soil, in front of a deeply patriotic and enthusiastic South African crowd.
“What a relief, it was a crazy close race. We pushed flat-out on the stage,” Lategan said. “When I woke up this morning I didn’t want another runner-up finish like happened at the Dakar this year. It’s been an amazing fight with all the top crews.”
Classy comeback by Loeb
Sébastien Loeb and navigator Fabian Lurquin recovered after a terrible 51st place in the prologue, to lead the South African Safari Rally at stages, only to be bested by Lategan right at the end. Despite charging through today’s final route, Loeb’s sixth place on Stage 5, wasn’t enough.
The Frenchman was pleased with his second place in the overall results, although he did lose a minute overall during the final stage to Lategan. “We got close to Lategan at one part of the final stage, but he won and deserved it. He was really strong. The main target for us was to finish the Rally, and we are on the podium,” he said.
Loeb acknowledged the challenge and thrill of South African terrain. “Our cars are quite wide and some of the trails here are narrow. You hit a lot of bushes when opening stages and make the road for others. So opening and sweeping stages are a challenge. It is my second time in South Africa, but my first outside Cape Town where I raced in World Rallycross. Going on safari and seeing so much of the landscape during the stages was very beautiful.”
Second stage win for Al Attiyah
Loeb’s Dacia Sandriders team-mate and W2RC championship leader, Nasser Al Attiyah, took his 45th W2RC stage win, becoming the only international driver to take overall Ultimate car class stage wins at the South African Safari Rally, with every other stage dominated by South African rivals.
Although Al Attiyah and navigator Edouard Boulanger only finished 10th overall after suffering several navigational error penalties during the early stages, the Qatari was pleased with his first South African racing experience. “It was really nice to be here in South Africa,” he said. “We won two stages and scored some good points for the championship, which is important for me and the team. We’d like to come back. We are happy for Henk to come back and win his local race.”
Second on the final stage and third in the overall rankings were Brazil’s Lucas Moraes and Spanish navigator Alejandro Monleon, in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux.
With 23 Dakar campaigns and the status as South Africa’s only Dakar overall winner, Giniel de Villiers was one of the most experienced drivers at the event. Driving a V8-powered Hilux for #TeamHilux, the Dakar veteran was thrilled to be part of South Africa’s first W2RC event, finishing 18th overall. “It was great to have a W2RC event in South Africa. The route was wonderful and you look at the times at the front, it was so close,” De Villiers said.
Brabec wins final stage – Sanders the overall
In the Bike category, the most dominant rider in the RallyGP class and current W2RC championship leader, Daniel Sanders, finished second on the final stage, taking the overall win by almost 9 minutes. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s class win meant the South African Safari Rally was a clean sweep in the W2RC lead categories for the Southern Hemisphere.
The Australian has now won three W2RC events in a row, setting a new win-streak record in the bike class. Wildlife encounters on the stages were a highlight for Sanders all week. “We’ve done so much work developing the bike, and it’s just paying off now. I had a great time here.”
American Monster Energy Honda HRC rider, Ricky Brabec, took the final stage win ahead of Sanders, with Botswana’s Ross Branch (Hero Motosports) in third. Despite racing only hours from his home in Gaborone, Branch had an arduous South African Safari Rally. “I got unlucky hitting a bird early on, but I still have the speed. It’s all about preparing for Dakar 2026. It was great having the race so close to home. The sport is strong here and thanks to all the farmers who let us race through their land.”
The RallyGP final rankings were a 1-2 for KTM, with Sanders, his Argentine team-mate Luciano Benavides in second 8’55” back and Brabec third overall for Honda, 10 minutes behind the leader at the end of the event.
Brabec enjoyed the challenge of the different terrains of the North West province, but took issue with some of the navigational penalties. “I had a lot of fun this week. The terrain wasn’t super physical, with pounding rocks and dune fields. But it became physical with the hundreds of corners we had to turn each day,” Brabec said.
Hero takes the day – but KTM the overall in Rally2
Austria’s Tobias Ebster won the final Rally2 stage, taking Hero Motosports’ only class win this week amongst the KTMs. Chilean Ruy Barbosa was second, and South Africa’s Michael Docherty was third.
In the Rally2 overall results, Spain’s Edgar Canet took the class win for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, ahead of Ebster and Docherty on the second factory KTM bike. Docherty had a dramatic South African Safari Rally, from starting late due to illness and surviving a 120 km/h crash on Stage 1. “The organisers put on an awesome event and it’s cool to tour my home country like this. It was not my greatest rally, but I scored some decent points for the championship by finishing.”
The best-ranked South African overall was RallyGP rider Bradley Cox, who finished eighth on his debut as a factory rider for the Sherco Rally Factory team. The son of legendary South African Dakar motorcycle specialist, Alfie Cox, proved his lineage with an impressive ride on the new bike. “It was a massive change with a new team, but such an unreal feeling racing at home. It’s something my dad never got to experience with so many people along the route supporting,” Cox said.
CFMoto untouchable in the quads
In the quads it was a 1-2 for CFMoto. France’s Gaëtan Martinez took the stage win and overall, from Lithuanian teammate Antanas Kanopkinas. Martinez admits it was a race to the very end. “It was very demanding with lots of danger in the grass and stones on the last stage. But overall, it’s a new country for us to discover, and I really liked it. We would like to come back.”
South Africa’s Carien Teessen was third on the final stage and overall quad rankings on her Yamaha. Despite a brutal week’s racing, Teessen relished the experience. “It was awesome to experience everything. The wow factor of this event was amazing, even if you are a privateer, everybody is there to help.”
Argentine dominance with BBR
The Challenger class has been an all-Argentine wining affair all week, with the final stage going to Nicolás Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertegarini in their BBR Motorsports Taurus. Qatar’s Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Argentine navigator, Bruno Jacoby, were second on Stage 5 in the Nasser Racing Taurus, ahead of the overall Challenger class winners, David Zille and Sebastian Cesana.
The Argentine crew of Zille/Cesana took three stage wins at the event and the overall by 3’39” from team-mates Cavigliasso/Pertegarini. Poland’s Adam Kus and Ukrainian navigator, Dmitry Tsyro, finished third overall in their Akpol Recykling Taurus.
Italy’s Enrico Gaspari, in his MMP, added a second W2RC stage win to his season, by taking the final stage victory in the side-by-side SSV class. It was an excellent SSV overall win on debut for Francosport’s Mário Franco and Joao Miranda. The Portuguese crew bested South Racing Can Am’s Richard Aczel and Wouter Rosegaar. Italy’s Michele Cinotto was third in a Polaris.
Franco admitted it wasn’t easy. “We had a new car, and navigation was complicated, but we won. And during the event, the South African supporters and people were very good.”
The unsung heroes
Like all W2RC events, there’s no easy way to complete the South African Safari Rally. But the Malle Moto by Motul motorcycle riders do it harder than anyone else. These are the event’s true privateers, competing completely unsupported, and responsible for all their bike’s servicing.
Finishing the South African Safari Rally is an achievement for these riders. The solo Malle Moto Yamaha rider, Frenchman Florian Bancilhon, won the last stage and took the overall victory from Matthieu Jauffraud, on a KTM. The Malle Moto class embodies Dakar’s spirit of adventure.
Issued on behalf of the South African Safari Rally
Photography by: Dave Ledbitter
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