Title, effectively became decided after the first 10 km of the main event on Saturday.
Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa finished the season finale of the national Rally-Raid Championship as champions after a lock-out 1-2-3-4 finish at this past weekend’s Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400 in Thabazimbi.
Having started the event three points behind the Ford Ranger crew of Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer eventual victory also handed the title to Saood Variawa and French navigator, Francois Cazalet.
This made Variawa, at 20-years old, the youngest ever champion in the series’ history.
Setting the tone
For the works supposed Toyota team, the pattern started on Friday, with victory in the 22 km prologue for Portuguese crew Joao Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro, followed by the second GR Hilux Evo of Guy Botterill and Spanish co-driver Oriol Mena.
Placing third were Variawa and Cazalet, ahead of the former’s younger brother Sa’aad and veteran navigator, Zaheer Bodhanya.
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Combined with the prologue, the first stage, held directly after, resulted in Botterill and Mena starting the event proper on Saturday first thanks to their combined times.
Held over 184 km, the main stage would then be followed by the second loop over 87 km, the latter being the exact same as the first after the prologue on Friday.
After a reported 10 km, the title, effectively, became a forgone conclusion after the Ford team hit a kudu, which cost them precious time, yet didn’t result in their withdrawal from the event.
Fairytale end
Having passed their teammates on the stage, Variawa and Cazalet eventually completed the first and second loops to win from Botterill and Mena after a number of punctures and navigational errors.
Finishing third, a mere 59 seconds behind, were Ferreira and Palmeiro, followed by the younger Variawa and Bodhanya.
“For Saood to become the youngest ever South African rally-raid champion at just 20 years old is a fantastic achievement, and I am overjoyed for him and Francois,” team principal Shameer Variawa said.
“We have great drivers, a great team, and of course great sponsors behind us. Now we shift our focus fully to the upcoming Dakar Rally, and I believe we can carry this momentum forward to the world’s greatest rally-raid race”.
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