The Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400, the fifth and final round of the 2026 SA Rally-Raid Championship that takes place on 13 and 14 November in the Thabazimbi area in the Limpopo Province, will not only be the title decider in various class championships, but it will also welcome eight celebrated international competitors, who will compete in South Africa for the first time, to the race and spectators and enthusiasts will be spoilt with racing action at the highest level.
Only one of the available national SARRC titles has been finalised and due to various permutations, anything can still happen in the chase for the remaining titles. Add to that the participation of sensational racing machinery and talent abound, the event will no doubt end the season on a spectacularly high note.
Two Toyota Gazoo Racing teams have been victorious so far this season with the defending drivers’ champion, Saood Variawa (Toyota Hilux IMT EVO), this year partnered by Charan Moore, taking the first win of the season while their team-mates, Guy Botterill/Henry Köhne, scored a hat-trick by winning the previous three events. Variawa/Moore experienced a few unlucky incidents that put them out of contention for the title, nonetheless they would like to end the season on a high note – as would the winning combination of Botterill/Köhne.
Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus) were also hard hit with a few difficulties this season, but perseverance and determination still keep them in the fight for the overall navigators’ and Ultimate FIA T1+ titles. They finished on the podium after each event and victory will be the perfect way to end the season.
Although the rest of the field in Ultimate FIA T1+ will have no pressure to fight for titles the competition will be powerful. Woolridge/Dreyer will be joined by the Brazilian Marcos Baumart, a familiar face in the championship and the experienced Alberto Andreotti who sat alongside Baumgart in the 2018 KZN Battlefield 400 race, the father and son duo of Mike and Luke Lawlor and Danie Ludick with stand-in navigator Adriaan Roets deputising for the incapacitated Denzil Williamson, with the affable Namibian, Wilro Dippenaar and experienced navigator, Carolyn Swan (NWM Ford Rally-Raid Evo Plus) will be making his SARRC debut, adding to the anticipated action.,
Also in the mix will be the young lady driver, Puck Klaassen who will be campaigning for the second time in the #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Toyota DKR T1+ Evo with Danie Stassen reading her the notes. The pair finished fifth overall first time out and will aim for another good result. The seasoned German driver, Daniel Schröder and Juan Möhr (WCT VW Amarok) will go for another top five result while the young Dutch duo, Pim Klaassen and lady navigator, Sasha Siripanyavuthi (DaklaPack Rallysport Red-Lined T1+ GTR) will again be on the start line.
The Ultimate SA T1+ title battle is going down to the wire with a mere five points separating the class leaders, Johan and Sean van Staden from their Red-Lined Revo T1+ rivals, Philip Botha/Andries Mynhardt. Two more teams competing with Red-Lined Revo vehicles, Abrie and Iaan Olivier (VAPS HCV Red-Lined Revo T1+) and the Dutch couple, Dave and Tessa Klaassen (DaklaPack Rallysport Revo GTR), will be between the teams also competing for the best overall result while German driver, Jurgen Schröder and Rikus Fourie (WCT VW Amarok), who missed the Vryheid event, will aim for another class victory.
The encounters in the Challenger class will present a new mantle at the Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400, privileged to have four entries from the legendary Audi Quattro vehicles piloted by experienced international competitors. The 1985 Replica Audi Quattro 4WD cars of the QFF Dutch Quattro Legends Team earned an enviable reputation competing in the 2025 Dakar Rally with Erik van Loon winning the H4 Class of the Dakar Classic while he finished 31st overall. Hein Verschuuren will navigate for Van Loon.
Two more drivers, Peter van den Bosch and Marcel van Vliet, are also highly experienced drivers with resumes that include, among others, top 10 finishes in the truck category of the Dakar Rally. Van den Bosch will have Hans Brand as navigator while Van Vliet will have Jon Kok next to him. Marcel Pronk has also been competing for decades and his participation in especially the Dakar Rally, includes doing so in the motorcycle category and as navigator for Van Vliet in the truck category. He now finds himself behind the wheel of his own Audi Quattro and Bob Coerse will read him the notes.
The four Dutch Quattro Legends will be joined in the Challenger Class by the young Dutch driver, Henk Klaassen and Gerhardt Schutte (DaklaPack Rallysport Taurus T3Max) and Schalk Burger/Armand du Toit (King Price Xtreme Ford Ranger Raptor) also in the line-up.
In the Adventurer Class, Peet Victor/VanZyl Jonck (VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Red-Lined VK50) have claimed two victories and lead the class, but this title is still wide open as second-placed Nielen Marx/Rikus Hattingh, competing in a similar vehicle, are still very much in the running. The leaders will have some backup as their team-mates, Tyler Botha/Kyle Lotter, also competing in a Red-Lined VK50, will be looking to strengthen their third place in the championship.
Geoff Minnitt/Leander Pienaar (Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am Maverick R) will be joined by another pair of new-comers to the SARRC Eric de Wet and Emil Euler in the Dew Plant Hire Can-Am Maverick R in the SSV Class.
The Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400 starts on Friday, 13 November at 09:30 when a 22-kilometre Qualifying Race will determine the starting order for Stage One at 13:00. This racing section will be 108 kilometres in distance and will also serve as Stage Two that continues at 08:30 on Saturday morning. Stage Three will be a real humdinger and will also start and finish at Koedoeskop Laerskool, approximately 44 kilometres south of Thabazimbi just off the R511 and will serve as the venue for Race Headquarters as well as the DSP while the final podium ceremonies will also take place here.
Spectators and enthusiasts can follow the race via the RallySafe App with various good vantage points along the route or on Facebook: @sarallyraidchampionship; Instagram: @sarallyraidchampionship; Tik Tok: @sarallyraid and YouTube: @SouthAfricanRallyRaidSARRC
The Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400 takes place in the Thabazimbi area
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– Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) November 8, 2026