TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA) will return to international competition tomorrow as the team takes on Round 3 of the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC): the South African Safari Rally, which is brought to you by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, and is based at Sun City in South Africa’s North West Province.
The event marks the first African round of the 2025 W2RC season, and also the first ever W2RC round to take place in Southern Africa.
TGRSA will field two locally-prepared GR Hilux EVOs, driven by Saood Variawa and Guy Botterill, respectively. Variawa, partnered by French navigator Francois Cazalet, currently sits 14th in the W2RC Drivers’ Championship with 17 points. Botterill, who raced in this year’s Dakar Rally, as well as the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, will be partnered by long-time co-driver Dennis Murphy.
Both crews will campaign the latest evolution of the GR Hilux EVO, sporting updated liveries and refined setups to maximise performance and durability over the challenging South African terrain.
“We decided to pay homage to the typical South African safari vehicle, with the livery of our cars for this race,” explains TGRSA Team Principal, Shameer Variawa. “When you go to the bush, you will find beige-coloured game viewers or ranger support vehicles more often than not. Given that we will be racing in that same terrain this coming week, we felt that it was apt to reflect the ‘African’ heritage in our liveries. Remember, this is not a bakkie – it’s a Hilux!”
In terms of refinements to the vehicle, Variawa says that the GR Hilux EVO will sport several upgraded components, as well as a refined suspension setup for the race: “This is terrain that we are very familiar with, and we know how to extract the most from our cars here on home ground.”
The rally begins with administrative and technical checks on 17 and 18 May, followed by a 9 km Prologue stage on Monday, 19 May, which will determine the starting order for Stage 1. The event then unfolds over five competitive stages, totalling more than 1,200 km of timed specials and covering over 2,600 km in total. Each day presents a fresh test for competitors, both in terms of speed and navigation.
Event Schedule, as per the organisers:
- TOYOTA GAZOO RACING Prologue (19 May): A 9 km blast just outside Sun City sets the stage, combining tight bush trails with fast gravel
- Stage 1 (20 May): Loops west toward Lichtenburg, blending sand tracks and open farm roads (262 km special)
- Stage 2 (21 May): Heads into Barberspan’s savannah and off-piste terrain (352 km), ending at the marathon bivouac
- Stage 3 (22 May): Loops back from Stella, with long, fast sections and tricky navigation (253 km)
- Stage 4 (23 May): A punishing 224 km route into Skilpadshek, featuring rocky mountain sections and technical bushveld
- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Stage 5 (24 May): A short, sharp 118 km loop through red dust and farmland returns the rally to Sun City for the finish
One of the standout features of the rally is Stage 2 and Stage 3, which together form the Marathon Stage. Crews will overnight at a remote bivouac at Marathon Camp on 21 May without the assistance of their technical crews. Any repairs or maintenance must be performed by the crews themselves, making reliability and careful racecraft essential over this two-day stretch.
The terrain across the event will include fast gravel roads, rocky outcrops, soft sand, and dry riverbeds—demanding a versatile setup and a strategic mindset. Sections around Thabazimbi, Mafikeng, and Stella will present both high-speed opportunities and navigation traps, while the closing stages will wind back into the rugged bushveld near Sun City.
Weather forecasts indicate clear skies and mild autumn conditions, with temperatures expected to hover in the mid-20s°C during the day. These dry conditions should favour high-speed racing, though dust could be a factor, particularly for crews starting deeper in the field.
TGRSA brings a wealth of local experience to this rally. Both Variawa and Botterill are regular front-runners in the South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC), and this event offers the opportunity to translate that pace to the world stage. For Variawa, the goal will be to build on his current championship points and move up the standings. For Botterill, who officially steps into the W2RC for the first time in 2025, the aim will be to acclimatise quickly and contribute valuable team points.
“To us, partnering with the organisers to bring the South African Safari Rally to life, is an opportunity to underscore our commitment to rally-raid racing, to motorsport as a whole, but also to the many South African Hilux fans,” says Glenn Crompton, Vice-President of Marketing for Toyota South Africa Motors. “Beyond our sponsorship of the event, we are looking forward to seeing our newly-liveried GR Hilux EVOs take on the global competition on home soil and we can’t wait to see them in action.”
The South African Safari Rally, brought to you by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, also represents a significant milestone for the W2RC, not only as the championship’s first visit to Southern Africa, but also as a celebration of the region’s motorsport heritage. For TGRSA, the event is more than just a race—it’s a statement of intent on home soil.
Car Numbers:
#212
Driver: Saood Variawa
Co-Driver: Francois Cazalet
#211
Driver: Guy Botterill
Co-Driver: Dennis Murphy
