The sandy Safari Rally will be taking place this week, bringing in talent from across the country and the world alike. Ahead of the event, reigning SARRC champions Gazoo Racing unveiled a Hilux wearing a Land Cruiser-inspired lick of paint for the weekend.
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History will go down this week, considering this marks the first time a W2RC round will be held in Southern Africa. The inaugural South African Safari Rally will loop around the North West Province and have a biouvac based at Sun City. To celebrate this, and the Japanese automaker’s revered reputation in the country, Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA) will take on Round 3 of the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) with the two GR Hilux EVO bakkies wearing a special hue of Land Cruiser paint!
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The two locally-prepared GR Hilux EVOs, piloted by Saood Variawa (navigated by Francois Cazalet) and Guy Botterill (with Dennis Murphy) have an exterior hue that pays tribute to traditional safari vehicles by sporting a unique beige livery to echo the African bushveld. The GR Hilux EVOs also feature upgraded components and revised suspension setups, which the racing team states have been ‘tailored for the region’s demanding terrain’.
The models were unveiled during the Toyota Gazoo Racing Motorsport Hub opening ceremony hosted by Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, in partnership with SVR in Kyalami, Gauteng. Purpose-built over just eight months, this 12 500 m² facility has been touted as the new benchmark for rally-raid engineering in both South Africa and abroad. It consolidates the team’s operations under one roof, with space to prepare up to 20 race cars, a fully upgraded machine shop, dyno and damper labs, and extensive in-house capabilities that streamline race prep and development of the GR Hilux EVO. The venue has been inspired by Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy, with Team Principal Shameer Variawa stating the HQ is a man-cave for motorsport excellence, driven by passion, purpose, and pride.
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The opening came just days ahead of the South African Safari Rally, which kicked off with a 9 km Prologue on 19 May (yesterday). From today, both local and global competitors will cover five gruelling stages and over 2 600 km. Key features include a Marathon Stage across 21–22 May, where crews will tackle remote terrain without service support. The route includes a mix of sand, gravel, rock, and dry riverbeds through areas like Lichtenburg, Barberspan, and Skilpadshek, before circling back to Sun City for the finale.
Condition predictions for the week show the usual Highveld weather, with dry winter days and cool evenings. Locals and spectators in the region can expect to see the two Land Cruiser Safari-coloured Hiluxes battling through the terrain as fast as possible for the remainder of the week.
