TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA) endured a challenging weekend at the 2025 Algoa Rally, held in and around Uitenhage and the Longmore Forest on 26 and 27 July. The event formed Rounds 3 and 4 of the South African National Rally Championship (SANRC), with the team fielding their Toyota Starlet in the hands of Mandla Mdakane and returning co-driver Simon Vacy-Lyle.
Friday’s opening leg (Round 3) started with promise but quickly turned difficult. After a cautious but clean first stage, the car unexpectedly cut out at the marshal point and had to be manually restarted. This was followed by a broken driveshaft in Stage 2, forcing the crew to back off and preserve the car for the remaining stages. Despite the setbacks, the team made it to the end of the day and were classified tenth overall, with a 10-second penalty added to their time.
The technical crew worked late into the night to replace both driveshafts, the alternator and battery, and to resolve a suspected issue with the engine mount—all without removing the engine. With these repairs completed, the Starlet was prepped and ready for Saturday’s four long and demanding gravel stages.
But the bad luck continued. Just a few hundred metres into Stage 1, a misfire developed, cutting power significantly. The crew completed the stage cleanly but were forced to miss Stage 2 while the service team worked to diagnose and replace the faulty injectors. As a result, they were time-barred and could no longer be classified in the overall standings.
Even so, Mdakane and Vacy-Lyle rejoined the rally for Stages 3 and 4, using the opportunity to gather valuable seat time in wet and tricky conditions. Despite a minor braking issue and lack of power, the team completed the stages without incident—underscoring the pace and potential of the package when running cleanly.
“This wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for,” said TGRSA Rally Team Manager, Guy Botterill. “We had the pace and a strong car, but some unexpected technical issues cost us valuable running time. That said, the crew pushed through, the team worked relentlessly, and we’ll come back stronger for the next one.”
The next round of the 2025 NRC season will be the Ermelo Rally, set to take place on 29 and 30 August in the Mpumalanga town. The event will represent Rounds 5 and 6 of the championship.
