This fast but tricky race, the second round of the SA Rally-Raid Championship, took place on Friday, 15 August, on the outskirts of Parys in the Free State. The action-packed day included a short qualifying stint followed by 320 tough racing kilometres, leading to new race winners this season.
MOTORING NEWS
The Blignauts were fastest after the Falken Wild Peak Qualifying Race and with the top 10 teams having to draw for their starting positions for Stage One, they were the sixth car on the road. The team had an uneventful outing and their combined race time( 04:44:47) put them on the top step of the overall and the Ultimate FIA T1 + Class podium.
There was, however, some major action between the leaders on the road. Guy Botterill and his Spanish navigator, Oriol Valdearcos( Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux IMT EVO) started Stage One from the lead and despite it being tricky to open the road, it all went quite well until they were halted by a locked gate and minutes passed before they managed to open it.
The team and the winners of the first round, Gareth Woolridge / Boyd Dreyer( Castrol Ford Rally-Raid NWM EVO PLUS), who started the Parys 400 from third place and overtook their teammates, the Brazilian team of Marcos Baumgart / Alberto Neto who started just ahead of them, caught up to the TGR team, but the teams then encountered yet another locked gate which the Ford team opened to take the lead on the road. Woolridge / Dreyer were the first team to complete Stage One but were forced to call it a day due to a mechanical issue early into Stage Two.
Stage Two then went smoothly for Botterill / Valdearcos who were compensated with time putting them initially on the top step of the overall and class podiums. Their luck turned again as they were one of six teams who were slapped with a two-minute penalty for a rule infringement that changed the initial results and resulted in them dropping to second place overall, a minute and 38 seconds behind the Blignauts. The overall and Ultimate FIA T1 + podiums were rounded off by Giniel de Villiers / Dennis Murphy(# TeamHilux Rally-Raid Toyota T1 +) who were second fastest after the qualifier and started Stage One from fifth place, but also received a penalty after the race. Only 73 seconds separated them from Saood Variawa / Francois Cazalet( Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux IMT EVO) whose total time( 04:49:05) also included the two-minute penalty with the team finding the tricky navigation a real challenge while they also suffered a puncture.
With no penalties behind their names, it was the Horn brothers, Johan and Werner(# TeamHilux Rally-Raid Toyota Hilux) who made it two class victories for the siblings and team-mates when they clinched the Ultimate T1 + SA victory for the second time this season. They finished fifth overall( 04:53:05), 78 seconds ahead of veteran competitor, Gary Bertholdt and Henry Köhne( Toyota Hilux IMT EVO) who were sixth overall
SEPTEMBER 2025 41 WORDS IN ACTION