When the national rally-raid championship descends on the North West Province this weekend, competitors will confront the season's most demanding challenge as the GR Stella 1000 Marathon makes its debut on the calendar.
Running from July 24 to 26, this three-day event spans nearly 1 000 kilometres of gruelling terrain across the cattle farming region surrounding Stella. The marathon format, the only one of its kind on the SA Rally-Raid Championship schedule, asks questions of crews that ordinary weekend events simply cannot replicate.Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa has taken title sponsorship of the event, which carries added significance for the TGR teams competing.
The Stella area gained international recognition last year when it hosted the overnight bivouac for the South African Safari Rally marathon stage, giving many local competitors a preview of the terrain they will now tackle over three full days.
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Saood Variawa, the reigning SARR champion, claimed victory at the season opener and leads the 2026 standings. With Charan Moore navigating in the TGR Toyota Hilux IMT EVO, the young driver will look to add the marathon winner's accolade to his growing list of achievements.
Team-mate Guy Botterill, partnered with experienced local navigator Henry Köhne, comes into the event seeking to improve on a near-miss podium finish from the previous round, where he fell short by mere seconds.
Making his marathon debut, Saood's younger brother Sa'aad Variawa will benefit from the guidance of navigator Wade Harris as he gains valuable experience in the longer format.
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Former multiple champions Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy, piloting the #TeamHilux Rally-Raid DKR Hilux T1+ EVO, have won this desert-style race twice before, in 2017 and 2018. De Villiers also claimed victory in 2022 alongside Brett Cummings. Another marathon win would position the experienced pairing for a serious championship challenge as the season progresses.
Their team-mates, the Blignaut brothers Fouché and Bertus, finished fifth in the TGR Safari 1000 in 2024. After a quieter start to their 2026 campaign, they will be eager to get points on the board.
Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer, the 2023 champions in their Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus, are no strangers to victory at this event and currently sit second in both the overall and Ultimate FIA T1+ standings. They will be aiming to repeat their 2023 triumph.
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The Ford team fields three additional entries in Evo Plus machinery. Wors Prinsloo and André Vermeulen will target valuable championship points, while father-and-son pairing Michael and Luke Lawlor make their debut. Danie Ludick and Denzil Williamson hope for improved fortunes after a difficult opening round.
In Ultimate SA T1+, Philip Botha and Andries Mynhardt (Red-Lined Revo T1+) will chase class leaders Lood du Preez and Adriaan Roets (Farmers Meat Century Racing CR6), who currently top the standings. Century Racing's Jayden Els and Johann Swemmer, familiar faces near the front of the field, will aim to convert their pace into consistent results.
German driver Jurgen Schröder, with navigator Rikus Fourie in the WCT VW Amarok, will push for a podium finish, while current Adventurer Class champions Johan and Sean van Staden (Red-Lined Revo T1+) cannot be overlooked, despite misfortune at the first event.
Former Dakar Rookie Hennie de Klerk and Carl Swanepoel (Treasury One Toyota Hilux) are also confirmed starters.
The VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Team fields Abrie Olivier and Iaan Olivier in their Red-Lined Revo SA T1+ as they chase their first points of the season. Their team-mates in the Adventurer Class, Peet Victor and VanZyl Jonck, along with Tyler Botha and Kyle Lotter (Red-Lined VK50), arrive with strong form after securing a victory and a third-place finish at the opening round.
Adventurer Class competitors Tokkie Ferreira and Nardus Janse van Rensburg (Ford Ranger), currently second in the standings, face the marathon challenge alongside Nielen Marx with veteran navigator Rikus Hattingh (Red-Lined VK50) and the pairing of Jan Rose and Arno Olivier (Ford V8).
The Challenger Class features Schalk Burger and Armand du Toit (King Price Xtreme) in a Ford Ranger, while Geoff Minnitt and Leander Pienaar (Hydro Power Equipment Maverick R) compete in the SSV Class.
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The Lion and Sable Lodge, just outside Stella, serves as the event hub. The Ceremonial Start of the short Qualifying Race begins at 09:00 on Friday, 24 July, with results determining starting positions for Stage One at 13:30. After completing Stage One, competitors return to the Designated Service Point at the lodge for a mandatory 30-minute stop before Stage Two. The leaders are expected to finish the day's action at approximately 14:30.
Saturday sees the leading crew depart for Stage Three at 08:30, followed by Stage Four after the compulsory DSP stop, with competitors returning to the lodge to conclude the day.
Sunday's programme features Stages Five and Six, starting at 08:30 from the Lion and Sable Lodge, where the finish and podium ceremonies will take place.
Spectators can track the action via the RallySafe App, access various vantage points along the route, or follow updates on Facebook (@sarallyraidchampionship), Instagram (@sarallyraidchampionship), TikTok (@sarallyraid) and YouTube (@SouthAfricanRallyRaidSARRC).
The GR Stella 1000 Marathon continues a legacy stretching back more than four decades, from the original Toyota Trans Kalahari events through the legendary Toyota 1000 Desert Race to today's championship.
"Marathon racing is at the very heart of rally-raid," says Glenn Crompton, Vice President of Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors. "While our event is contested over three days rather than the two weeks of the Dakar Rally, it asks many of the same questions of crews and their vehicles. It tests people and machinery in a way that no normal weekend event can."
SARR CEO Archie Rutherford expressed the organisation's appreciation for the ongoing partnership. "We are extremely honoured and proud of our longstanding relationship with Toyota and highly respectful of their outstanding performance over many decades, and we look forward to the forthcoming GR Stella 1000 Marathon in the North West Province in a week's time."
With championship points, prestige and the unique honour of conquering South Africa's only marathon rally-raid event all at stake, the field in Stella faces a weekend that will separate the capable from the exceptional.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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