With five rounds of the 2024 SA Rally-Raid Championship now something of the past, there is no doubt that the championships will go down to the wire and that the final two rounds will be nerve-wrecking. The recent INGCO Parys 400 and INGCO Vaal 400 gave competitors the opportunity to score twice during the same weekend although this double-header event tested man and machine to the limit. In the end, the standings saw various changes that will add to the pressure to produce the goods at the remaining races.

Looking at the overall championship standings, a third victory this season for Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings (Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux IMT EVO) resulted in them confirming their overall lead (128 points). They now also share the podium with four of their team-mates. Guy Botterill took his maiden win at the INGCO Parys 400 together with Dennis Murphy that moved the team to second place overall (104 points) while Giniel de Villiers/Elvéne Vonk (87 points) dropped one position to third overall.

Lance Woolridge/Kenny Gilbert rolled their Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger T1+ resulting in the team not scoring points at the Parys 400 event. This saw them dropping off the podium to fourth place overall (70 points). Behind them they will feel the pressure from two teams with the same amount of points (60) – their team-mates, Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer who came so close to a victory at the INGCO Vaal 400 and the Blignaut brothers, Fouché and Bertus (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid Toyota IMT EVO) who could not complete the same event.

In the overall navigators’ standings, Johan Horn’s brother and navigator, Werner, and Pienaar share the same amount of points (34) and lead Adriaan Roets, who navigates for Johan de Bruyn (Red-Lined REVO T1), by a single point. De Bruyn/Roets lost their Adventurer Class lead with De Bruyn now 11th in the overall drivers’ standings (33 points) and Roets 10th in the navigators’ overall standings.

The class championships are still a very tight affair. Here teams receive a bonus of five points for starting an event and this can make a difference in the standings. Lategan/Cummings (153 points) are still leading the Ultimate T1+ Class and are 18 points ahead of Botterill/Murphy (135 points) who overtook De Villiers/Vonk (116 points) who are now third.

The Adventurer Championship saw various changes including a new leader in the drivers’ standings where Gerhard Heinlein (149 points) demoted De Bruyn (135 points) to second place while Basson (130 points) moved onto the podium with the team of Basson/Pienaar now within striking distance to defend their title successfully.

In the Adventurer Navigators’ Championship, Roets (De Bruyn’s navigator) still leads (135 points) although only five points now separate him from the defending champion (Pienaar) who moved up to second position. A few intricate battles can be expected at the front of the class that will make for nail-biting racing.

In the SSV Championship, Geoff Minnitt/Rodney Burke (Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am Maverick) are still leading (66 points) although the team did not compete in the two INGCO-sponsored events. Ruperd Fourie (54 points) moved to second and is closing the gap to Minnitt with Puck Klaassen currently third (28 points).

Burke still leads in the SSV Navigators’ Championship and is 12 points ahead of Fourie’s navigator, Morné van Rensburg (54 points).

Toyota has built a comfortable lead in the Manufacturer’s standings (542 points) followed by Ford (176 points); Nissan (39 points); Renault (35 points) and Can-Am (32 points).