The Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400, the fifth and final round of a compact SA Rally-Raid Championship season will present competitors with a challenging route on 13 and 14 November in the Thabazimbi area in Limpopo Province, but they will first have to conquer the approximate 450-kilometre route successfully to earn their silverware and the titles.
The popular Thabazimbi area was also the playing ground for the final round of the 2025 SARRC and competitors will remember the sweltering conditions as well as the pressure to produce the best possible result. The Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400 might look familiar, but teams will have to be careful not to be caught out.
The action will start early on Friday morning, 13 November with a short 22-kilometre Qualifying Race that will determine the starting order for Stage One later in the day. Like at the previous four events, the first 10 teams will then draw for their starting position for Stage One with the tenth classified driver having the first choice followed by the descending group. Start positions may be knocked up or down by subsequent choices as race tactics will play an important role in the choices.
Stage One will test teams over 108 kilometres where tight and twisty tracks across game farms as well as tracks across fertile cultivated fields will be on the menu. Keeping it safe and fast will be crucial as the starting line-up for Stage Two on Saturday will be determine by the overall positions attained on Friday.
With the first 130 kilometres done and dusted, more than likely, in dusty conditions, competitors will be eased into the second and final day of the event with a repetition of Stage Two. There might, however, not be too much time to appreciate the soft morning light and majestic Bushveld thorn trees and landscape as the familiar tracks could present the sting in the tail.
After completion of Stage Two, competitors will return to the Designated Service Point (DSP) at Koedoeskop Laerskool from where all the action will unfold . Teams will remain in the service park for a compulsory 30-minute decontrol before taking on Stage Three and the topography of the route will vary from the qualifying race and first two stages, the leaders will have to open the road and the navigators will have their work cut out for them.
Stage Three will present a tough 210-kilometre test for the teams who will be fresh after the compulsory break. The crews can expect challenging racing on game farm roads opening into fast flowing tracks in the fields around the mine.
Typically, hot and humid weather conditions will match the red-hot racing action as teams will give it their all to earn the best possible position and the most points towards the various national championship titles.
Koedoeskop Laerskool, approximately 44 kilometres south of Thabazimbi just off the R511, will be the venue for Race Headquarters and DSP while all the stages will start and finish there.
On Friday, the Qualifying Race will start at 09:30 with the leading team taking on Stage One at 13:00. Teams will be back at the venue on Saturday to start Stage Two at 08:30. The final podium ceremonies will also take place at the venue where great food and refreshments will be available during the weekend.
And with the venue in close proximity to Gauteng and the Northwest Province, spectators and enthusiasts who plan to attend the event, will be in for exhilarating action as teams battle it out for the accolades for the final time this season.
The action can be followed on various social media platforms as well as the RallySafe App which is available as a free download from the iStore and Google PlayStore. The RallySafe App provides live tracking as well as timing information.
The Northam Zondereinde Bushveld 400 will present competitors with a challenging route
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– Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) November 1, 2026