[Image: Prodrive / Facebook]
With its proud off-road racing legacy, having produced several Dakar winners and hosting the last phase of the 1992 Dakar, South Africa is thrilled to have its first W2RC event – the South African Safari Rally, brought to you by Toyota Gazoo Racing.
After months of demanding preparation and intense logistics, the world’s best rally-raid teams are on-site in Sun City, having completed three busy days of build-up and pre-event testing before the start of Round 3 of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
The quality of competitors who have journeyed to South Africa to test themselves against the country’s testing North West terrain is unquestionable, including a formidable line-up of W2RC champions and multiple Dakar Rally winners on two and four wheels.
After the first test sessions, excitement is building towards Monday’s opening prologue.
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Five-time Dakar winner and W2RC series leader, Nasser Al Attiyah and navigator Edouard Boulanger, will be favourites in their Dacia Sandrider.
Al Attiyah is not unfamiliar with Southern African conditions, having previously tested in both Namibia and South Africa’s Northern Cape. The Qatari racer is confident after the initial shakedown test for the South African Safari Rally.
“I have good memories of South Africa and always like a new round in the championship. The South African will have some local knowledge, but we are here to push for the win, mainly to have a good score for the championship. That means we must survive the first few stages and push on to the last two. The car is amazing. We have been testing since our arrival, and we’ve changed some things. We have a good set-up for this race.”
The youngest-ever Dakar stage winner, Saood Variawa, is one of the local favourites at the South African Safari Rally, as part of Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa with navigator François Cazalet.
“We’ve done a lot of testing and a lot of work with upgrades, and I’m really happy with the car,” he said. “Being at our home race with everyone from the Dakar, as a South African, is something to feel proud of. I’ve done a lot of racing in this terrain; the route can get narrow and fast. I think Loeb will be fast because he’s used to rally roads.”
Local hero and former Dakar winner Giniel de Villiers will be in the thick of the action too and a strong contender based on his vast experience internationally, and in the local terrain. He made the switch this year to the South African #TeamHilux squad, and will have Leander Pienaar navigating for him.
Racing starts with a brief but intense 9km prologue on Monday, 19 May, followed by five days of Selective Sections, or competitive stages, culminating in the final stage on Saturday.
Stage 1’s sand and high-speed farm dual tracks towards Lichtenburg will test racers over 262 km, followed by Stage 2’s rawer terrain, around Barberspan, totalling 352 km.
Stage 3 is a high-speed special of 253 km in the Stella area, followed by 224 km special into the Skilpadshek region, where rocky mountain trails will test tyre vulnerabilities.
The South African Safari Rally finishes with Stage 5 on 24 May. A 118 km looping spring, through the typical red dust North West farmland, finishes at Sun City.
You can follow the South African Safari Rally on their website.
[Source: Motorsport]
