The GR Stella 1000 Marathon, the second round of the 2026 SA Rally-Raid Championship that took place over three days and almost a thousand kilometres in the desert-like Stella area in the North-West Province, was marked by extremely tough racing and stiff competition with routes that were tricky and demanding albeit enjoyable and eventually it was Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Guy Botterill and Henry Köhne (Toyota Hilux IMT EVO) who were victorious after leading the race from Friday.
Botterill/Köhne were the first vehicle to take on the 420 kilometre route on Saturday morning after posting the best combined times in the short qualifying race and the two 24km stages and the multiple SA Rally champion together with his new navigator, Köhne, did not look back except to keep an eye on the charging pack in their rear-view mirrors. They kept their lead after two more stages on Saturday and opened the 400 kilometre route again on Sunday. The final two stages of the race were even more tricky for the hard-charging leaders as they encountered typical desert-race conditions that included limited tracks, long grass and the unexpected.
A problem-free race with no incidents, however, saw them winning the GR Stella 1000 Marathon in a time of 09:49:53 while they also claimed the Ultimate FIA T1+ silverware.
They were pushed from the start by their team-mates, Saood Variawa/Charan Moore who trailed them by a mere 56 seconds at the beginning of the final day. Variawa/Moore chased hard from their second place throughout the race, but an unfortunate incident with a spectator vehicle on the last stage cost them valuable time and they dropped back to eventually finish fifth overall and in the Ultimate FIA T1+ Class with a time of 10:13:17.
Jayden Els and Johann Swemmer (Century Racing Factory CR7) won the short qualifier and after starting Friday in seventh place, they completed the second day in third place. Their consistency – despite a slipping clutch towards the end of the race – saw them stepping onto the second place of the podium (09:52:55), just over three minutes behind the winners.
And after almost 10 hours of racing, only 63 seconds separated them from former desert race winners, Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus). The team found the perfect set-up for their Ford on the final day and after starting the day from seventh position, a determined effort saw them clinching the third step of the overall podium and the Ultimate FIA T1+ class.
Marathon racing in desert-like conditions was an all-new experience for Variawa’s younger brother and team-mate, Sa’aad, who had navigator Wade Harris reading him the notes. The team worked their way up from sixth place on Friday to fifth on Saturday and finished the race in a respectable fourth place (10:00:08) overall and in FIA T1+.
Teams who also romped to a top 10 result in this class, include the two #TeamHilux Rally-Raid teams, Fouché and Bertus Blignaut and the former multiple desert race winners, Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy (DKR Hilux T1+ Evo). Both teams experienced steering issues during the race with the Blignaut brothers surviving a narrow escape when they rolled their vehicle a mere two kilometres before the finish. They managed to still bring it home to finish seventh overall (10:22:28) while De Villiers/Murphy were ninth (10:25:04) losing time having to fix a broken steering arm in the bush during the final stage. #TeamHilux Rally-Raid also won the team reward.
Danie Ludick/Denzil Williamson kept their rhythm during the race to bring the second Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus home in 10th place (10:35:36).
The ding-dong battle between Johan/Sean van Staden and Philip Botha/Andries Mynhardt in similar Red-Lined Revo T1+ vehicles in the South African Ultimate T1+ class continued for three days. Botha/Mynhardt were the class leaders after the first day, but the father and son duo passed them on the second day although just over two minutes separated the two leading teams.
The gap did not change much on the third day with the Van Stadens eventually claiming victory (10:21:58) and finishing sixth overall while Botha/Mynhardt (10:24:26) were second in the class and eighth overall. The Ultimate SA T1+ podium was rounded off by marathon race newcomers, Abrie and Iaan Olivier (VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Red-Lined Revo T1+) who finished in an impressive 12th overall.
It was another great result for the Challenger winners, Geoff Minnitt and Leander Pienaar (Hydro Power Equipment Maverick) who not only completed the full race distance and won the class, but managed to finish in 11th place overall (10:44:52).
As always, this marathon event took its prisoners and only three more teams could see out the full distance. Peet Victor /VanZyl Jonck (VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Red-Lined VK50) took the lead in the Adventurer Class from the beginning and brought home the silverware when they won the class (11:06:40) while Nielen Marx/Rikus Hattingh finished second in class (11:28:05) in a similar vehicle. It was a new experience for both these teams.
Schalk Burger/Armand du Toit put their King Price Xtreme Ford Raptor successfully through its baptism of fire in the Challenger Class in 15th place overall (12:11:28).
The father and son newcomers, Michael and Luke Lawlor (Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus) had a good event until the fifth and penultimate stage which they could not complete, but the SARR newbies showed their grit and determination to complete their first marathon event. They took the time penalty and completed the sixth and final stage to be classified as finishers.
There was heartbreak for their team-mates, Wors Prinsloo/André Vermeulen who started the final day in the top 10, but had to call it a day on the final stage due to break problems. It was also a frustrating event for Lood du Preez/Adriaan Roets (Farmers Meat CR 6) who started on the Ultimate SA T1+ podium, but a problematic gearbox on the second and third day put a halt to their attempts while multiple issues during the race forced Hennie de Klerk/Carl Swanepoel (Treasury One Toyota Hilux) to retire on the third day.
After scoring a healthy number of points, teams will now prepare for the third round of the season, the postponed Century Property Developments – Century Racing Endurance race that will return to the scenic Garden Route area in the Langkloof on 28 and 29 August.
Published by: Charmaine Fortune
Photography by: Dave Ledbitter
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