The inaugural SA Safari Rally has come to a close and with it, some favourable results for South African teams, including overall winner Henk Lategan in his Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe Hilux.
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Serving as round three to the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), the SA Safari Rally concluded after six days of competition through some of Mzansi’s highveld terrain, just outside of Sun City in the North West Province. The rally featured five stages, including the opening prologue and it covered multiple road surfaces and landscapes, dominated by dry savannah with some black sand and soft gravel inbetween. The final stage encompassed a total of 222 kilometres, with a 111 km high-speed special stage around Sun City.
TGRSA drivers Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy finishing 12th on the final stage and securing 13th overall. Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet, managed a win on Stage 4 but faced the challenge of opening the route on Stage 5, finishing 18th for the day and 12th overall. Gazoo Racing added that both crews contributed valuable points to Toyota’s lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
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Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings clinched the overall victory in the car category with their Toyota Gazoo Europe Hilux T1+. In the motorcycle division, Daniel Sanders of Red Bull KTM secured his fourth consecutive W2RC victory, extending his lead in the championship standings.
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With the South African round concluded, the W2RC now shifts focus to the next event in Portugal, where TGRSA aims to build on their home soil experiences and continue their pursuit of championship success.
2025 SA Safari Rally W2RC Round 3 Standings
- H. Lategan / B. Cummings (#205) – Toyota Gazoo Racing: 12h10m42s
- S. Loeb / F. Lurquin (#219) – The Dacia Sandriders: +01m39s
- L. Moraes / A. Monleon (#203) – Toyota Gazoo Racing: +02m55s
- G. Woolridge / B. Dreyer (#277) – Neil Woolridge Motorsport: +04m48s
- C. Sainz / L. Cruz (#225) – Ford M-Sport: +05m15s
- S. Quintero / D. Zenz (#204) – Toyota Gazoo Racing: +06m19s
- N. Roma / A. Haro (#227) – Ford M-Sport: +06m45s
- D. Schröder / H. Köhne (#242) – PS Laser Racing: +09m04s
- G. De Mevius / X. Panseri (#222) – X-Raid Mini JCW: +11m44s
- N. Al-Attiyah / E. Boulanger (#200) – The Dacia Sandriders: +11m48s
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