After an exciting prologue, the South African Safari Rally has truly kicked into gear with the first full stage: a 555-kilometer loop around Sun City, including a 262-kilometer timed section. Expectations were high after the prologue—and once again, it was the South Africans who made their mark. In the car category, Henk Lategan (Toyota) took a commanding win, while Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) dominated the bike race.
Lategan takes the lead, top contenders follow
Toyota Gazoo Racing factory driver Henk Lategan showed his strength across the varied terrain near Lichtenburg. He completed the stage in 2:26:08, holding off none other than Carlos Sainz (Ford M-Sport, +2:38) and Sébastien Loeb (Dacia Sandrider, +3:34). World champion Nasser Al-Attiyah received a two-minute time penalty, dropping him to seventh place overall.
Dutch participants experienced mixed results. Rients Hofstra and navigator Wade Harris finished 30th overall with a time of 2:48:09, though they incurred a 9-minute penalty. Dave and Tessa Klaassen placed 49th, while Rik van den Brink and Gydo Heimans secured 37th in their Century CR7-T.
A standout success came from Wouter Rosegaar, who, as navigator to Richard Aczel, claimed the stage victory in the SSV category. The duo finished 38th overall but were the fastest SSV team of the day. Rosegaar reflected afterwards:
“It was a tough special, so winning it makes it even more rewarding. It really came as a surprise! Richard and I weren’t focused on the clock—we’re running our own rally and trying to learn as much as we can. We didn’t make any mistakes today, and that paid off! On to tomorrow—hopefully we stay clean and we’ll see where we stand at the finish.”
Top 5 Cars – Stage 1
- Henk Lategan (RSA, Toyota) – 02:26:08
- Carlos Sainz (ESP, Ford) – +2:38
- Sébastien Loeb (FRA, Dacia) – +3:34
- Jayden Els (RSA, Red-Lined) – +4:08
- Nani Roma (ESP, Ford) – +4:39
Ross Branch puts southern Africa on the map
Botswana’s Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) dominated the motorcycle stage with a time of 2:44:04, finishing ahead of Honda riders Adrien Van Beveren (+0:55) and Ricky Brabec (+1:09). Prologue winner Daniel Sanders received a penalty for missing a waypoint, dropping him to fourth place. With the win, Branch also takes over the overall lead.
Despite starting the day sick, Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM) kept his Rally2 winning streak alive. His time of 2:55:22 secured another class win, ahead of Edgar Canet (+0:37) and Tobias Ebster (+0:49). Dutch rider Ian Olthof finished 13th in Rally2 with a time of 3:45:44, which included a 3-minute penalty.
Top 5 Bikes – Stage 1
- Ross Branch (BOT, Hero) – 02:44:04
- Adrien Van Beveren (FRA, Honda) – +0:55
- Ricky Brabec (USA, Honda) – +1:09
- Daniel Sanders (AUS, KTM) – +3:04 (incl. 2-min penalty)
- Luciano Benavides (ARG, KTM) – +3:25
Looking Ahead: Marathon Stage Incoming
Stage 2 marks the first of two marathon stages: 623 kilometers in total, with 356 kilometers of timed racing. At the end of the day, competitors will camp in a remote bivouac without any assistance from their service teams. Reliability, endurance, and self-sufficiency will be key.
