Since I first found out that South Africa would be playing host to a World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), the anticipation was almost overwhelming. This was one event I was not going to miss! Imagine my excitement then when an invitation from Ford arrived in my inbox to join M-Sport at Sun City for the prologue to the event, which runs from 18-24 May. This isn’t just any off-road race: the Safari Rally is Round 3 of the new World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC). After months of anticipation, South Africa – with its proud off-road heritage (it even hosted part of the 1992 Dakar Rally) – finally gets its turn on the world stage.
I arrived the day before and immediately made my way to the bivouac, which was practically vibrating with excitement. Teams were doing prep work, mechanics were poring over rally T1+ trucks, and a sense of anticipation was thick enough to taste.
Monday dawned cool and clear for the prologue: a short, brutal 9km sprint where every driver fought for a good starting position.
Meeting M-Sport’s dream team
One of the highlights was definitely meeting the team behind the Ford Raptor trucks. M-Sport (yes, Malcolm Wilson’s famous UK rally outfit) has partnered with Ford Performance to build these beasts for rally-raid.
Team boss Matt Wilson (M-Sport’s director and team principal) was charmingly down-to-earth. I even got to chat with him about how the team has prepared for this event and Dakar 2026. He told me they’d already logged a staggering 10 000km of desert testing – a clear sign they mean business. The trucks themselves looked wicked: along the lines of a “super-bakkie” with huge tires. Matt explained that they’ve beefed up the old Raptor DNA with Fox bypass dampers and a stout V8 engine. Basically, it’s the Raptor we know and love, but on steroids.
Later I was starstruck to meet two of the team’s drivers: Carlos Sainz Sr. and Nani Roma. I’ve been a Sainz fan for years (who hasn’t loved El Matador since his WRC glory days?), and I admit I went a bit mushy when greeting him. He and Nani were both incredibly warm. (I even blurted out something about being a fan, which felt embarrassingly fangirl at the time. He just laughed and shook my hand.)
Sainz told me he’s excited to be in a Ford “Raptor” for his World Rally-Raid campaign, while Nani – who debuted this very truck with a bang on the last Dakar – promised it’s a real handful of fun.
Beast of a bakkie
The Ford Raptor T1+ really lives up to its name. It was unveiled last year as “the pinnacle of Ford’s off-road engineering” and seeing it in person was awe-inspiring. I managed to get a proper look at the suspension: independent double-wishbones all around, with Fox bypass coilovers that’ll keep the ride smooth even on the rockiest trails.
Under the hood lurks a naturally-aspirated 5.0-litre “Coyote” V8 – no turbo, just raw grunt. Matt mentioned that this V8 is a bit of an oddball for the Safari: with the high altitude around Sun City, it won’t get the turbo pressure boost that some rivals’ engines do. But he sounded confident. And after hearing they literally blew away the competition in the recent test events, I’m guessing power isn’t the worry – it’s keeping this monster on the track.
The Raptor’s carbon-fibre panels and steel spaceframe give it a distinctive, beefy look. Matt proudly pointed out the 400mm of ground clearance and the FORD grille emblazoned across the front. “This thing will bite a herd of impalas before you can say oil pressure,” I joked lamely, and he grinned. In short, the Ford-M-Sport “Raptor” is an absolute killer rig.
The all-star lineup
The South African Safari Rally’s entry list reads like a who’s-who of rally-raid legends. Leading the charge are Nasser Al-Attiyah (with co-driver Edouard Boulanger) and the Frenchman Sébastien Loeb (with navigator Fabian Lurquin). They spearhead the Dacia “Sandrider” team – yes, you read that right, Dacia is fielding factory-backed trucks!
Then there’s the Ford M-Sport camp: veterans Carlos Sainz Sr. and Nani Roma – between them six Dakar wins – laying down lines in the Raptor T1+s. It was surreal to see those names on the entry list.
South African hearts will beat a little faster for Giniel de Villiers, another Dakar winner (2009) who’s in the thick of it with Toyota. The former TeamHilux stalwart switched back to the local Gazoo outfit and he is as much an SA motorsport legend as the bakkies running here, so the energy around him is infectious.
The Safari experience
Driving the course isn’t easy. We learned that the stages here are a far cry from the Abu Dhabi dunes of the previous round. South Africa’s North West province dishes out tight bush tracks, rocky mountain trails and fast red-dust farm roads. Even locals say you’ve got to smooth it out; as American motorcycle champ Ricky Brabec warned, “slower is faster” when there are fences and antelope hiding in the bush. Indeed, racers are bracing for wildlife on the road, a big contrast from open desert dust bowls.
By the end of Monday’s prologue, I felt fully immersed. Back at the bivouac, mechanics chatted over cold drinks, and I finally cracked a smile: getting my dose of adrenaline and meeting my motorsport heroes – it was an unbeatable combo.
The Safari Rally isn’t just another race; it’s a wildly entertaining saga playing out under big African skies. From my chat with my new friend Carlos (haha!) to the first Ford bakkie roaring past in a cloud of dirt, I was completely mesmerised. And with a stampede of legends on those challenging stages, Safari 2025 is poised to be a true thrill for competitors and spectators alike.
Visit https://sasafarirally.co.za/ for live updates and more information or watch the live stream.
