South Africa Safari Rally, 2025 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship round three preview – Sanders leads the series for Red Bull KTM as Cox and Ebster make factory team debuts with Sherco and Hero MotoSports.

2645km of South African savannah (1218km of specials) around Sun City, north-west of Johannesburg…sounds good doesn’t it? The 2025 Rally-Raid World Championship tackles this new challenge (to the W2RC series at least, don’t confuse the South African Safari Rally with the WRC event by the same name).

Beginning May 18 to 24 with KTM Honda, Hero and Sherco riders reconvened on what promises to be a different type of terrain, although it will be familiar to more than one contender.

In the main RallyGP category it is hard to look past Daniel Sanders as the favourite in the African savannah. On 63 points, the Red Bull KTM rider has won both rounds so far this season which included a maiden Dakar victory. Chucky is in form but the “bush” terrain should also suit the Aussie.

KTM will field a three-man team at the Safari with wingman Luciano Benavides in GP class and hot rookie Edgar Canet again posing problems for the established and experienced field around him, racing in the Juniors but very much in the mix for the overall. 

Monster Energy Honda HRC bring their A-team, the strongest factory team, of four riders; Tosha Schareina, Ricky Brabec, Adrien Van Beveren and Skyler Howes.

So far this season KTM and Sanders have had the measure of the HRC squad at the races, taking crucial stage wins and prologue placings, as well as being fastest when it mattered. Tactics and speed has affected the outcome of the previous two rallies (Dakar and Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge) and it is time to step up for Honda if they want to claim the world title. 

The reigning world champion, Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports), was a DNF in both of the previous rounds and as a relative local from across the border in Botswana, the “Kalahari Ferrari” has three South African cross-country titles in his trophy cabinet. Knowing the terrain better than anyone certainly makes Ross a favourite here. 

Nacho Cornejo will join Branch in the Hero squad along with their new Rally2 class teammate, Tobias Ebster. Nephew to KTM legend Heinz Kinigadner, Ebster has landed a factory spot with the Indian manufacturer’s rally race team and currently tops his class on 46 points.

His closest rival and former teammate Michael Docherty is on 42 points and, although something of a specialist in the sand of the South Arabian peninsula, is also a South African on home soil. 

KTM’s Edgar Canet crashed in Abu Dhabi so will look to return to the top of the class as he did on debut in Dakar. Konrad Dabrowski in the mighty BAS World KTM privateer team and Harith Noah at Sherco help make the Rally2 class the most populated and arguably competitive one to keep an eye on.

Original by Motul class 

There are also five tough-as-nails riders signed up to compete in the Original by Motul category which makes a resurface at the Safari (better known as a Dakar sub-category). French riders Benjamin Pousset, Matthieu Jauffraud and Florian Bancilhon, India’s Jatin Jain on a KOVE motorcycle, and Xavier Gregoire from Belgium.

2025 W2RC Safari Rally entry list (bikes):

2025 Safari Rally schedule:

17–18 May: administrative and technical scrutineering

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: 295 km / special: 262 km / total: 557 km)

21 May: stage 2 — Sun City–Marathon Camp (road section: 268 km / special: 352 km / total: 620 km)

22 May: stage 3 — Marathon Camp–Sun City (road section: 270 km / special: 253 km / total: 523 km)

23 May: stage 4 — Sun City–Sun City (road section: 470 km / special: 224 km / total: 693 km)

24 May: stage 5 — Sun City–Sun City (road section: 98 km / special: 118 km / total: 216 km)

More information: www.sasafarirally.co.za

Photo Credit: Julien Delfosse / DPPI + Motul | Aurelien Vialatte