Their teammates, Johan and Werner Horn, maintained their Ultimate T1 + SA Class title hopes by winning the class for the second time this season. They started the final day from 15th place and finished with a total race time of 06:28:55. They were followed by the remaining two Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid Evo Plus teams. Marcos Baumbart / Kleber Cincea from Brazil rounded off the top five( 06:31:09), two minutes and 46 seconds ahead of Wors Prinsloo / André Vermeulen.
Prinsloo / Vermeulen, who started Stage Two from seventh, stopped 30 kilometres into the stage to assist the Blignaut brothers, Fouché and Bertus(# TeamHilux Rally-Raid DKR Toyota Hilux T1 +), who were in a ditch after gearbox issues and overshooting a corner, forcing them out of the race.
Guy Botterill / Oriol Valdearcos( TGR Hilux IMT EVO) experienced a turn of luck. After a disappointing prologue on Friday, they were running with the leaders before mechanical trouble in the second half of the day forced them to stop. However, with the race halted at the 133km mark due to extreme weather, and results calculated back to that point, they made the cut-off, finishing seventh overall( 06:37:26) and sixth in Ultimate FIA T1 +. They were followed by Philip Botha / Andries Mynhardt( Red-Lined Motorsport Revo T1 +), who finished second in SA T1 +( 06:51:55).
The two Heinlein families, driving similar Red-Lined VK56 vehicles, completed the top ten. Gerhard and his father Rudi finished ninth overall and won the Adventurer Class( 07:04:17), while younger brother Nickus and Jaco Kriel secured 10th place( 07:10:33) and were runners-up in the class.
Despite a time penalty and bad luck on the first day, Danie Ludick / Denzil Williamson( Red-Lined Revo T1 +) claimed the Ultimate T1 + SA podium, finishing third in class and 11th overall. Johan and his son, Sean van Staden( Renault Duster), were third in the Adventurer Class and 12th overall. Five more Red-Lined vehicles successfully completed this challenging event, with the next four teams also competing in the Adventurer Class.
Johan de Bruyn / Adriaan Roets( Revo T1) were 13th overall, followed by Martin van der Vyver / Rikus Hatting( Revo) and the two VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Teams, Abrie and Iaan Olivier and Peet Victor / VanZyl Jonck, who brought their VK50 vehicles home intact after starting the race from 17th and 18th places respectively.
The Namibian team, Marko Himmel / Francois Schoonbee( Red-Lined Navara Evo), started
the Vryheid race as the Ultimate T1 + SA class leaders. However, a sick Himmel had to endure the weekend. Despite starting the final day from the back of the field, they finished the race in 17th place overall, scoring valuable points as fourth in Ultimate T1 + SA.
Jayden Els / Johann Swemmer( Red-Lined Revo T1 + GTR) started the final day in fourth and had a strong run for most of the race until engine trouble stopped them. Gary Bertholdt / Philip Herselman( Toyota Hilux IMT EVO) also encountered mechanical issues, as did SARR newcomer Sa’ aad Variawa / Zaheer Bodhanya( TGR Hilux IMT EVO).
The sixth and final round of the season, the Northam Platinum Bushveld 400, is scheduled for November 21st and 22nd, giving teams a busy three weeks to prepare for the final onslaught.
Images by David Ledbitter
OCTOBER 2025 41 WORDS IN ACTION