The penultimate round of the 2025 South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC), the VAPS HCV Vryheid 400, delivered two days of punishing rally-raid action in northern KwaZulu-Natal — and a strong result for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA).
Despite treacherous conditions, torrential rain, and a route that tested both crews and machinery to the absolute limit, Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet brought their GR Hilux IMT EVO home in second place overall, missing out on victory by just 53 seconds after more than six hours of racing. Teammates Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena were also on pace for a strong finish before mechanical trouble intervened, though they were credited with seventh overall after the event was red-flagged due to inclement weather.
The weekend’s racing began on Friday, 31 October, with a 17 km Falken Wild Peak Prologue followed by the short but fast-paced 50 km Stage 1. Variawa and Cazalet ended the opening day in sixth place overall, setting themselves up for a determined fightback on Saturday’s two 163 km loops north of Vryheid.
Saturday’s conditions were as challenging as they come: thick mud, flooded rivers, and fast-changing grip levels made driving and navigation difficult, and increased the risk of costly mistakes. Still, Variawa and Cazalet rose to the occasion, pushing hard in the final stage and clawing back more than a minute on the eventual winners before the race was stopped after 133 km due to a severe rainstorm. The result cemented their lead in the championship standings heading into the season finale.
“It wasn’t a bad weekend overall — the pace was definitely there,” said Variawa. “We made some mistakes early on, went off the roadbook a few times and probably lost around four minutes in total, but we managed to pull some of that back in the final loop. I pushed as hard as I could in the wet, and we took about a minute and a half out of the Ford ahead. Unfortunately, we just fell short by about a minute, so the championship fight goes down to the wire.”
Teammates Botterill and Mena were also in contention for the podium throughout the event. The pair had a solid run on Friday before surging through the field on Saturday, setting competitive times on every split. Unfortunately, a rear differential failure forced them to slow dramatically in the closing kilometres, costing them a likely top-three finish. With the storm halting the event before the stage could be completed, they were classified in seventh place overall.
“We had a good run and a bad run at the same time,” explained Botterill. “Our pace was fantastic — we were winning splits and the car felt great. But unfortunately, the rear diff broke on the second day, which really hurt us. Still, I’m happy with how Oriol and I are working together, the pace is strong, and we’ll just keep pushing forward. There’s definitely a big result coming for us soon.”
Sa’aad Variawa, taking part in his first national rally-raid race, was partnered with experienced co-driver, Zaheer Bodhanya for this event. The pair managed a competitive qualifying race, but failed to complete the race due to a niggling electrical problem. Even so, it was a strong opening performance by the youngster.
TGRSA Team Principal, Shameer Variawa, praised the team’s performance:
“Vryheid was one of the toughest events we’ve faced all season — between the tight forest sections, the technical mountain trails, and the torrential rain, it demanded maximum focus and endurance from everyone. Both crews performed exceptionally well. Saood and Francois were fast and consistent, while Guy and Oriol showed incredible pace before being sidelined by an issue outside their control. The team worked flawlessly under pressure — a great performance as we head to the season finale.”
With just one round remaining — the Northam Platinum Bushveld 400 on 21–22 November — TGRSA remains firmly in contention for championship honours, with both crews aiming to close out the 2025 season on a high.
