- Stage 5, a 222 km romp featuring 111 km against the clock, brought down the curtain on the inaugural edition of the South African Safari Rally on Saturday.
- The South African Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) made his home crowds roar with delight with his maiden FIA W2RC victory. The thrilling showdown between the local hero and Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders) went down to the wire.
- Argentina landed a one-two finish in Challenger, with David Zille (BBR Motorsport) taking top honours ahead of his teammate Nicolás Cavigliasso. Portugal had good reason to celebrate in SSV too: Mário Franco (Francosport) came out on top, while Alexandre Pinto (Old Friends Rally Team) retained the championship lead.
- The RallyGP stage went to Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda HRC), ahead of Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who secured the overall. His teammate Edgar Canet took the win in Rally2 and closed the gap to just 3 points behind class leader Tobias Ebster (Hero MotoSports).
- Gaëtan Martinez and Antanas Kanopkinas delivered another one-two for CFMoto Thunder Racing, locking out the top of the quad standings with 45 points apiece.
- From the Middle East to Africa and on to Europe! See you at the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, from 22 to 28 September, for the fourth round of the 2025 season.
FIA: Lategan looming large in Al Attiyah's rear-view mirror
With two stage wins under his belt this week, Henk Lategan took a commanding victory against one of the most stacked Ultimate fields in W2RC history. Just 39 seconds ahead of Sébastien Loeb this morning, the South African kept his cool under pressure to secure his maiden W2RC win and, in doing so, he added South Africa to the list of victorious nations in Ultimate. Loeb (+1′39″) was unable to end a drought stretching back to the 2022 Andalucía Rally. Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing) completed the podium (+2′55″), his second of the season, after taking runner-up in the previous round. The South African, second in the Dakar, brought his tally to 94 points. This catapults him from fifth to second in the championship, which Nasser Al Attiyah still leads with 114 points to his name. The W2RC leader picked up two stage wins this week, capping his performance today with the 45th triumph of his W2RC career, the eighth for Dacia. However, a 15-minute penalty for a missed waypoint in stage 2 derailed the plans of the victor in Abu Dhabi, who finished ninth overall and pocketed a measly 18 points. Moraes, third with 89 points, cemented his grip on a championship podium spot. His teammate Seth Quintero, 79 points, is 10 points behind. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing), who had to sit this one out following a crash in competition after his Dakar triumph, slipped to fifth place with 73 points, trading places with Lategan. Thanks to both Lategan and Moraes placing their Hiluxes on the podium here, Toyota Gazoo Racing (311 points) super-sized their lead over Dacia (219 points) at the top of the manufacturers' ranking. Carlos Sainz, who finished the rally just outside the podium (+5′15″), and Nani Roma, close behind in sixth, helped Ford M-Sport (190 points) inch closer to Dacia.
CHALLENGER: Zille takes the rally as Cavigliasso extends his lead
A commanding winner of three stages this week, David Zille held off relentless pressure from fellow Argentinian Nicolás Cavigliasso (+3′39″), who claimed stage 5. His maiden win spearheaded a BBR Motorsport. Adam Kuś (Akpol Recykling Team) grabbed his first podium in third, containing the onslaught of Khalifa Al Attiyah (Nasser Racing, fourth) and the Taurus BBR pair of Dania Akeel (fifth) and Pau Navarro (sixth). Local Puck Klaassen (G Rally Team) brought up the rear. Cavigliasso added to his margin in the championship, where Navarro, 31 points down, and Akeel, 49 behind, round out the provisional podium. Zille climbed up to seventh place.
SSV: A peachy week for Super Mário
Trying his hand in the SSV class, Mário Franco will have no regrets: the Portuguese driver is celebrating his debut with a win! He took the rally victory ahead of Michele Cinotto (CST Xtreme Plus Polaris) and his compatriot Alexandre Pinto, who defended his championship lead. Pinto overcame a series of mechanical issues to shine and increase his buffer: Enrico Gaspari (MMP) lags by 19 points after winning the finale, while fellow Italian Cinotto trails by 63.
FIM: Daniel Sanders bags another rally and a couple of records
Unstoppable since the season opener, Daniel Sanders has become the first RallyGP rider to claim three consecutive wins. After the Dakar and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, "Chucky" has dominated the South African Safari Rally, smashing records along the way: most RallyGP wins (19) and most specials won in a single season (11). With Luciano Benavides finishing second (+8′55″), KTM secured their first one-two finish since the 2023 Dakar. Ricky Brabec rounded out the podium (+10′00″), just ahead of his Honda teammate Adrien Van Beveren (+15′47″). The American's stage win on Saturday, the tenth of his career, allowed him to bump the Frenchman from the top 3. Bradley Cox, the top-ranked South African, placed his brand-new Sherco eighth. Sanders, the RallyGP championship leader, is now 35 points clear of his closest pursuers, Benavides and Brabec. While the Australian has carved out a solid lead, the fight for the remaining podium spots is wide open: just 7 points separate Benavides (53 points), Brabec (53 points), Adrien Van Beveren (48 points) and Tosha Schareina (46 points) between second and fifth place. KTM sit 22 points ahead of Honda in the manufacturers' ranking.
RALLY 2: More Hero-ics from Ebster as Canet achieves redemption
The Dakar winner, Edgar Canet, was unable to finish in Abu Dhabi due to a crash. The Spanish rising star has redeemed himself by claiming victory in South Africa ahead of Tobias Ebster (+15′24″), who opened Hero's account in Rally2, and Michael Docherty on his KTM BAS World (+23′35″). Sixth, the Frenchman Florian Bancilhon took top honours in the class for the courageous riders competing without service crews (malles moto). Suspense with a capital S in the championship: Ebster hung on to the lead by the skin of his teeth as Canet slashed his deficit to 3 points and Docherty cut his to 8. It is all to play for!
QUADS: Martinez and CFMoto have got the power
Leading from start to finish this week, the Frenchman Gaëtan Martinez nabbed the final stage and the overall ahead of his teammate Antanas Kanopkinas. The two CFMoto riders took every special between them and stand tall at the summit of the championship with 45 points apiece. The South African Carien Teessen came in third in the rally.
2025 W2RC podiums following the South African Safari Rally (3/5):
FIA :
Championnat du monde FIA de rallye-raid des pilotes :
1. Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders) : 114 pts
2. Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) : 94 pts (-20)
3. Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing) : 89 pts (-25)
Championnat du monde FIA de rallye-raid des navigateurs :
1. Édouard Boulanger (The Dacia Sandriders) : 114 pts
2. Brett Cummings (Toyota Gazoo Racing) : 94 pts (-20)
3. Armand Monleon (Toyota Gazoo Racing) : 89 pts (-25)
Championnat du monde FIA de rallye-raid des constructeurs :
1. Toyota Gazoo Racing : 311
2. The Dacia Sandriders : 219 (-92)
3. Ford M-Sport : 190 (-121)
Championnat FIA de rallye-raid des pilotes Challenger :
1. Nicolas Cavigliasso (BBR Motorsport) : 147 pts
2. Pau Navarro (BBR Motorsport) : 116 pts (-31)
3. Dania Akeel (BBR Motorsport) : 98 pts (-49)
Championnat FIA de rallye-raid des navigateurs Challenger :
1. Valentina Pertegarini (BBR Motorsport) : 147 pts
2. Stéphane Duplé (BBR Motorsport) : 98 pts (-49)
3. Michaël Metge (BBR Motorsport) : 76 pts (-71)
Championnat FIA de rallye-raid des pilotes SSV :
1. Alexandre Pinto (Old Friends Rally Team) : 168 pts
2. Enrico Gaspari (MMP) : 149 pts (-19)
3. Michele Cinotto (CST Xtreme Plus Polaris) : 105 pts (-63)
Championnat FIA de rallye-raid des navigateurs SSV :
1. Bernardo Oliveira (Old Friends Rally Team) : 168 pts
2. Fausto Mota (MMP) : 99 pts (-69)
3. Maurizio Dominella (CST Xtreme Plus Polaris) : 78 pts (-90)
FIM
Championnat du monde FIM de rallye-raid :
1. Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) : 88 pts
2. Luciano Benavides (Monster Energy Honda HRC) : 53 pts (-35)
3. Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda HRC) : 53 pts (-35)
Coupe du monde FIM de rallye-raid des pilotes Rally2 :
1. Tobias Ebster (Hero MotoSports) : 66 pts
2. Edgar Canet (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) : 63 pts (-3)
3. Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM Team) : 58 pts (-8)
Coupe du monde FIM de rallye-raid des pilotes Quad :
1. Gaëtan Martinez (CFMoto Thunder Racing) : 45 pts
2. Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) : 45 (=)
3. Marek Loj (Poland National Team) : 16 pts (-29)
Championnat du monde FIM de rallye-raid des constructeurs :
1. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing : 141 pts
2. Monster Energy Honda HRC : 119 pts (-22)
3. Hero MotoSports Team Rally : 42 pts (-99)
Coupe du monde FIM de rallye-raid des teams Rally2 :
1. BAS World KTM Team : 77 pts
2. Xraids Experience : 47 pts (-30)
3. SRG Motorsports : 41 pts (-36)
