From May 19 to 24, South Africa will host the third round of the FIA and FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. Making its debut as an official round of the W2RC in 2025, the South African Safari Rally promises to be an exciting new addition to the world championship calendar.
Starting from the luxurious Sun City Resort, competitors will traverse five days of diverse South African terrain filled with gravel roads, savannahs, and mountainous landscapes. With 2,645 kilometers of rally and liaison ahead—including a two-day marathon stage—this rally will be a true test of endurance and skill.
World-Class competitors on the entry list
The rally features some of the sport’s biggest names. Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb will represent DACIA in the Ultimate class, aiming to make their mark. They’ll face stiff competition from the Toyota Gazoo Racing factory team, with drivers like Henk Lategan, Seth Quintero, and Giniel de Villiers. Ford M-Sport Raptor enters the fray with Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma, while MINI brings a strong line-up with De Mevius and Ferreira chasing podium finishes.
In the motorcycle category, the battle of the giants continues between Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (including Daniel Sanders and Luciano Benavides), Monster Energy Honda HRC (with Ricky Brabec, Adrien Van Beveren, and Skyler Howes), and Hero Motosports (featuring Ross Branch, among others).
Dutch teams compete in cars and bikes
The Netherlands is well represented this year. In the car category, the Daklapack Rallysport team returns with Dave and Tessa Klaassen competing in the Ultimate class with a Red-Lined Revo. A second Dutch team, Rik van den Brink and Gydo Heimans, enters the rally in a Century CR7. Rients Hofstra also joins the action in the fiercely contested T1+ category, driving a Red-Lined Revo GTR with a South African navigator.
Dutch presence is even more prominent in the motorcycle division. Bart van der Velden’s BAS World KTM Racing Team fields no fewer than six riders, including Konrad Dabrowski, Michael Docherty, and Filip Grot. The experienced HT Rally Raid Team from Boekel is also present, bringing riders like Gustavo Milutin, Massimo Camurri, and Ian Olthof aboard Husqvarna machines. The team recently announced plans to switch to Honda bikes in the near future.
A rally with character
The South African Safari Rally is not your average rally-raid. Organizers have chosen a compact yet challenging format, with all stages starting and finishing at a single centralized bivouac in Sun City. This setup not only simplifies logistics but also fosters a vibrant rally village atmosphere, where riders, teams, media, and fans come together.
The route embodies the raw and unpredictable nature of Africa: rugged, breathtaking, and ever-changing. From savannahs and farmlands to gravel tracks and rocky mountain trails, the terrain shifts dramatically. Temperatures can swing from cool mornings to scorching afternoons. Each day presents a new kind of challenge—demanding navigation, technical driving, raw speed, and physical endurance.
The rally features five full stages and one prologue, totaling 1,218 kilometers of special stages and over 1,400 kilometers of liaison routes spread across six rally days.
- Prologue (Sun City): A short 10 km test loop near Sun City, designed to determine the starting order. Expect fast gravel and tight technical turns.
- Stage 1 (Lichtenburg): Fast, open tracks through farmland and sandy plains.
- Stages 2 & 3 (Marathon stage via Barberspan and Stella): A true endurance test. No outside assistance, overnight camping, and complete reliance on rider and machine.
- Stage 4 (Skilpadshek): A rugged shift from bushland to mountainous terrain, filled with rocks and narrow paths.
- Stage 5 (Finale around Sun City): Fast red sand trails, agricultural fields, and low shrubs—a punishing stage where mistakes are unforgiving.
The South African Safari Rally combines world-class competition with raw African wilderness—a rally with true character, and a new W2RC highlight with strong Dutch roots.
