South Africa Safari Rally

South Africa Safari Rally is an international rally-raid competition held in the North West and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. The headquarters of the race is at the Sun City complex, near the Pilanesberg National Park. It is the third leg of the FIA FIM World Rally-Raid Championship 2025 (W2RC) and is a points scoring event. It is organised by South Africa Rally Raid Championship, an off-road racing series in South Africa, in collaboration with Motorsport South Africa, under the aegis of the sports global governing bodies for four wheelers and two wheelers, Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) respectively, and the promoter Amaury Sport Organisation. ^[1]

The World Rally-Raid Championship calendar for the 2025 season features five rally-raid events and the South Africa Safari Rally, added to the calendar in 2025, makes its debut in the World Championship calendar replacing Desafío Ruta 40 rally. ^[2] It is the third round of the W2RC after the first round, the Dakar Rally held in January, and the second round, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge held in February. ^[3] The event is from 18 to 24 May, 2025. ^[4] After the South Africa Safari, the five round world championship, runs two more rounds, the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal ^[5] and the Rallye du Maroc.

Rally route

The route includes a prologue and five stages, known as SS or Selective Sections, covering a distance of 2,647 km. The competitive stage distance is 1,218 km of dry and dusty central Africa to the more fertile mountain regions. The raid will start from Sun City, about 140 km from Johannesburg, and with minimal liaison sections surrounded by bushveld, in and around the Pilanesberg National Park. The marathon stage will be in the central region of South Africa, deep in the savannah. ^[6] The second and third selective sections are combined to make it the marathon stage. The route is designed by Evan Hutchison, a seven-time South African cross country champion. ^[7]

List of winners

FIA

Year	Route	Ultimate		Challenger		SSVs
		Driver Co-driver	Make & model	Driver Co-driver	Make & model	Driver Co-driver	Make & model
2025	Sun City - Sun City	Henk Lategan Brett Cummings	Toyota Gazoo Racing	David Zille Sebastian Cesana	Taurus T3 Max	Mário Franco João Miranda	BRP Can-Am Maverick X3

FIM

Year	Route	RallyGP		Rally2		Quads
		Driver	Make & model	Driver	Make & model	Driver	Make & model
2025	Sun City - Sun City	Daniel Sanders	KTM 450 Rally Factory	Edgar Canet	KTM 450 Rally Replica	Gaetan Martinez	CFMoto CForce 1000 R

References

1. "South Africa to host a round of the prestigious World Rally-Raid Championship SA Rally-Raid Championship | SARRC". SA Rally-Raid Championship | SARRC. May 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
2. "2025 World Rally-Raid Championship calendar announced – Safari Rally in South Africa added". Enduro21. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
3. "Rally guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2025.
4. "2025 FIA-FIM World Rally-Raid Championships Calendar". Cycle News. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
5. www.acp.pt. "BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal". www.acp.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2025.
6. "INTO THE WILD - WRRC 2025". www.worldrallyraidchampionship.com. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
7. "South African Safari Rally Route". South African Safari Rally. May 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.