TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA) brings the curtain down on its 2026 National Rally Championship campaign this weekend at the TRAC N4 Dullstroom National Rally, with motoring journalist Mark Jones and navigator Kes Naidoo chasing a strong finish to close out the year. The Mpumalanga event runs over two full days and 12 competitive stages totalling 166.30km within a wider route of 488.66km. Friday’s seven stages are contested in the SAFCOL Belfast Plantation forests, starting from a ceremonial start at the Dullstroom Oval at 10:00 before crews reach Parc Fermé that evening. Saturday moves to the S&N Timbers plantation for a further five stages, with the rally concluding at Parc Fermé by 14:30. Crews must finish both days to score points, making it a genuine test of consistency to close out the season.
Dullstroom also marks the competitive debut of a reworked GR Yaris, now fitted with wider wheel arch flares and a bigger rear wing, similar in style to those used internationally, alongside continued work on the car’s software to refine how power is delivered through the stages. A new intercooler spray kit, triggered by temperature rather than running continuously, has also been fitted ahead of the finale.
“We’ve been developing this car all year, and Dullstroom is where it really shows,” said Jones. “We’ve fitted wider wheel arch flares and a bigger rear wing, similar to what you’d see internationally, and this weekend is the first time it races in that specification. There’s also been a lot of work on the software side, tuning how the power comes in, and we’ve fitted a new intercooler spray kit that only triggers when it’s needed on temperature, rather than running all the time. It’s all aimed at making the car more consistent over two long days.”
Jones and Naidoo go into the finale second in the NRC2 class standings, chasing class leaders Bruce Swatton and Craig Reyneke (Volkswagen Polo). Lynton Swatton and Tommy Coetzee, also in a Polo, sit third, with Johan Strauss and Caro Storm (Subaru Impreza) and Dawie van der Merwe and Matt Kohler (Volkswagen Polo), winners of a National Rally round earlier this season, rounding out the NRC2 class within a 40-car overall entry for the finale.
“If we can finish on the podium here, third would be a brilliant way to end the year,” said Jones. “We have to finish both days to score, and these forests give you no room for mistakes, so the plan is simple: get the car and both of us home in one piece, and let the result take care of itself.”
The current forecast for Dullstroom points to a cool, unsettled Friday, with a high of around 24°C, a low near 12°C and a chance of light rain through the SAFCOL Belfast Plantation stages, before conditions clear for a warmer, largely dry Saturday with a high near 28°C. Dense plantation forest lines most of the route, and crews are wary that stage conditions under the canopy can differ from the open-road picture.
“The weather app says there won’t be much rain, but anyone who’s rallied at Dullstroom before expects at least a chance of it,” said Jones. “It’s trees and trees and more trees out there, so even if it stays dry at the start, the stages can still be slippery under that forest canopy.”
As the curtain-closer on the NRC season, the Dullstroom event has drawn strong media interest around the TGRSA entry, with guests from Toyota’s broader GAZOO Racing network, including Toyota USA, expected on the ground to see the new-specification GR Yaris in competitive action for the first time.
“This has been a big year of development for the GR Yaris and for us as a crew,” said Jones. “Kes and I want to finish it the way we started, pushing hard and bringing the car home. A strong result at Dullstroom would be the perfect way to close out 2026.”
