Key points:
- Today is the prologue of the South African Safari Rally, the first-ever W2RC round set in the African savannah. It will span 2,641 km, including 1,222 km against the clock.
- Following the administrative and technical scrutineering, 41-strong FIM field, automatically entered into the W2RC, is made up of 9 riders in RallyGP, 28 in Rally2 and 4 in quads.
- Over the past two days, the test tracks set up by the organiser have given the numerous entrants who have never raced in South Africa before a sneak peek of what the race has in store for them. Local specialists, with their intimate knowledge of the terrain, will make life hard for the W2RC front-runners.
- The prologue will open proceedings tomorrow at 1 pm (UTC+2). Live coverage will be provided on the Race Center HERE. From 7 pm, the ten fastest competitors will get to pick their starting positions for Tuesday's stage 1.
The permanent bivouac set up at the entrance to the Sun City resort has already plunged the teams into the safari spirit awaiting them. In the shade of the acacia trees where visitors seek refuge from the sun, monkeys are on the lookout for the slightest opportunity to snatch a W2RC souvenir!
The local motorbike scene is not as developed as it is in the car category. Indeed, two-wheelers do not share a national championship with the cars in South Africa. While South Africans make up the majority of the entry list (see Did you know?), they are far fewer in number than their four-wheeled counterparts, who benefit from the safety of the bodywork. The main reason is fairly straightforward and comes down to that crucial bit of kit: the cockpit.
When it comes to tourism in South Africa, safari is king. The riders, making the most of the downtime between testing and scrutineering, seized the chance to go on what locals call a game drive, a guided tour by vehicle with a seasoned and hopefully lucky tracker, aimed at spotting the legendary Big Five, the most iconic animals in the savannah, with the lions taking pride of place. On a safari, the goal is to see as many wild animals as possible… but that is definitely not the aim of the South African Safari Rally! Starting tomorrow, riders will be hoping for the exact opposite: to encounter as few animals as possible out on the stages. That way, they can stay fully focused on what will be a wholly new navigation challenge in the savannah, where the usual W2RC reference points are often nowhere to be found.
Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports), the reigning world number one and a native of neighbouring Botswana, along with local hopes Bradley Cox (on his first outing as a Sherco factory rider) and Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM Racing), fresh off a Rally2 win in Abu Dhabi, all enjoy the advantage of knowing what to expect. What Branch and Cox had to say about it speaks volumes…
DID YOU KNOW?
8 of the 41 motorbike riders cleared to start are South African. Argentina and France are both fielding half that number (4), followed by the US, Chile and India with 3 representatives apiece. Boasting the most numerous contingent at a W2RC event is a first for both the Rainbow Nation and Africa as a whole.
SCHEDULE:
- 19 May: prologue — Sun City (road section: 26 km / special: 9 km / Total: 35 km)
- 20 May: stage 1 — Sun City–Sun City (road section: 296 km / special: 260 km / total: 556 km)
- 21 May: stage 2 — Sun City–Marathon Camp (road section: 267 km / special: 356 km / total: 623 km)
- 22 May: stage 3 — Marathon Camp–Sun City (road section: 272 km / special: 255 km / total: 527 km)
- 23 May: stage 4 — Sun City–Sun City (road section: 470 km / special: 224 km / total: 694 km)
- 24 May: stage 5 — Sun City–Sun City (road section: 88 km / special: 118 km / total: 206 km)
List of FIA crews authorized to start here; list of FIM riders authorized to start here