Variawa and Cazalet finishes fifth after a rollover on prologue cost them half an hour.
Round 4 of the 2025 South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC) proved to be a tough event for Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA), despite an impressive performance by the Racing Toyota Hilux in the race prologue.
Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet in their TGRSA GR Hilux IMT Evo set the fastest time of all over the 38 km prologue, just one second ahead of team-mates Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena, in an identical bakkie. This set the two works crews up perfectly for the Outeniqua 400, which took place in the scenic Langkloof Valley between Oudsthoorn and Uniondale in the Western Cape this past weekend, 19 and 20 September.
While their pace was undeniable, several setbacks put the team on the back foot by the time the dust had settled for the day. Botterill and Mena first suffered a puncture and then had to deal with a mistake in navigation that cost them the best part of six minutes. This saw them drop down the order, and they finished the day in 7th overall, 4min 46sec adrift of the leaders.
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Early setback for Racing Toyota Hilux
At the same time, Variawa and Cazalet also had a puncture early in the stage but lost more time because of a soft rollover in a slow corner. The crew were unhurt in the incident, but they conceded 27 minutes 3 seconds on the stage. This put them down in 15th place overall after Day 1 of the event, with a lot of work to do on Day 2.
Two more race loops of 178 km each followed on the Saturday of the race weekend, giving the Racing Toyota Hilux crews the opportunity to make up for the challenges of the opening day. With that said, they faced stiff competition and unforgiving terrain, and the task ahead of them was daunting.
Variawa and Cazalet dug deep to set highly competitive times throughout the day and climbed the ladder into the Top 10 throughout the remainder of the race. They ended up setting the fifth-fastest time overall – a power performance in the face of an immense setback on the previous day.
While the points still have to be ratified by Motorsport South Africa, Variawa salvaged enough points from the race to remain at the top of the championship standings, with two rounds remaining in the season.
10-hour penalty
For Botterill and Mena, the day got off to a rocky start, as they left the road just a short distance into the stage. Their Toyota GR Hilux IMT Evo slid down an embankment and into thick foliage, and the crew required help to get the car back on the road. This resulted in a 10-hour penalty, but in a show of tenacity, the pair drove brilliantly for the remainder of the race. They showed excellent pace and finished the event in 11th place overall.
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“I’m very proud of the team this weekend. It wasn’t an easy outing for us, but despite the challenges we faced, our crews dug deep to fight back and score as many points as possible. In the end, we were disappointed not to be challenging for the win, but happy to leave with solid points in the bag,” said TGRSA Team Principal, Shameer Variawa, at the Louvain Guest Farm where the rally HQ was situated.
The penultimate round of the championship will take place in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, on 31 October and 1 November this year. This will be followed by the final round, set in the town of Thabazimbi on 21 and 22 November.
