Tough Start for TGRSA crews at SA Safari Rally Opener

Stage 1 of the 2025 South African Safari Rally - brought to you by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing - delivered a demanding test for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA), with both of the team’s GR Hilux EVO crews encountering challenges during the 557-kilometre route around Sun City, in South Africa’s North West Province.

The day followed a strong showing in the 9-kilometre TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Prologue on 19 May, where Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy posted the second-fastest time overall, just 1 second off the leaders. Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois Cazalet, meanwhile, initially set the fastest time on the prologue, but a jump-start penalty dropped them down the order and they started deep in the field, 56sec behind the fastest crew.

Stage 1 featured 262 kilometres of competitive racing and 295 kilometres of liaison sections, looping westward from Sun City before returning to the bivouac. Crews were met with dry conditions, temperatures in the high 20s, and mixed surfaces ranging from dry, dusty tracks to isolated muddy patches — posing a unique navigational and mechanical challenge.

Tricky Stage

For Botterill and Murphy, what began as a promising day unravelled as navigational difficulties set in. “That was a tricky stage for us,” Botterill explained. “The car was really good — we just struggled a bit with navigation and that basically sums up the day.” The pair also received a time penalty for missing a waypoint, ultimately finishing the stage in 15th place, 10min 07sec off the lead.

Botterill reflected on the difference between local and international rally-raid formats: “Navigation is very different to what we’re used to in South Africa. Here, it’s all roadbook-based with no external markers. When you make a mistake, it’s hard to recover. That made today particularly tricky.”

Technical Issues

Variawa and Cazalet faced a series of technical issues during Stage 1 that heavily affected their performance. “We had good pace at the start,” said Variawa, “but 40 kilometres in, our exhaust mount broke, so we had to run without anti-lag. Then our spare tyre started catching alight, which forced us to stop multiple times. In the last 60 km, we lost fuel pressure too.”

Despite the setbacks, the pair showed determination to finish the stage, eventually placing 22nd, 14min 59sec behind the leaders.

With both cars completing the stage, the TGRSA technical crews reported no major structural concerns and confirmed that the GR Hilux EVO platform handled the mixed conditions well despite the individual challenges encountered.

Demanding Stage 2

Next up is Stage 2, which begins the two-day Marathon Stage. Crews will race 352 kilometres of timed special stage, ending at a remote bivouac near Stella. There, they will be without assistance from their service crews and must perform any necessary maintenance themselves. With Stage 3 following immediately on Thursday, this phase of the rally is expected to be pivotal in determining the overall standings.

The rally will finish on Saturday, 25 May, at the Sun City resort, bringing an end to five days of racing over tough African terrain.