Now, the season will begin exactly where 2024 ended — at the Legends Adventure Farm near Bronkhorstspruit, with the Renault KEC 400 serving as Round 1. The race kicks off on Friday, 28 June with the Falken Wild Peak Prologue at 10:15. This short qualifying section will determine the start order for Stage 1, a loop of approximately 85 km, which gets under way at 13:15.
On Saturday, competitors will face two loops of 175 km each, starting at 08:30 with Stage 2. After a 30-minute compulsory de-control at the Designated Service Park at Legends Adventure Farm, they’ll head back out for Stage 3, which repeats the morning’s route. As always, fans are welcome to follow the action at various public viewing points or track the crews live via the RallySafe App, available for download via Google PlayStore and iStore.
TGRSA will field three GR Hilux IMT EVO entries for the opening round. Guy Botterill, who narrowly missed out on the SARRC title in 2024, returns for another full season, now partnered with experienced Spanish navigator Oriol Mena Valdearcos. Also returning is rising star Saood Variawa, partnered once more by French co-driver Francois Cazalet. The pair showed impressive pace at the recent South African Safari Rally, and will be keen to bring that form into the domestic series.
Joining the team for 2025 is international driver João Ferreira from Portugal, who will be partnered by fellow countryman Filipe Palmeiro. Ferreira brings impressive experience at global level, having won the 2022 European Baja Championship and competed extensively in both T3 and T4 categories. Palmeiro, meanwhile, has had an exceptionally busy and successful year, including multiple championship titles. Together, they’ll contest part of the 2025 SARRC season as well as the remaining rounds of the W2RC for TGRSA.
Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing SA
