Road to Dakar Challenge returns to South Africa at VAPS HCV Vryheid 400

Road to Dakar Challenge returns to South Africa at VAPS HCV Vryheid 400 — Image: Dave Ledbitter 2024 Road to Dakar Challenge winners – Wors Prinsloo & Andre Vermeulen.

The South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC) will host the Road to Dakar Challenge when the series arrives in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, for Round 4, the VAPS HCV Vryheid 400, on 9 and 10 October.

The Challenge is run by the ASO, organiser of the Dakar Rally, as part of a global calendar of qualifying events offering competitors the chance to earn a start on the world's toughest rally raid. At Vryheid, the Challenge is open to theSSV and Ultimate classes, and the winning crew will claim a full free entry into the following year's Dakar, covering the application fee for the driver, their race vehicle and, where applicable, their crew, excluding assistance.

The Challenge is aimed squarely at new talent rather than established professionals. To be eligible, every member of a crew must never have competed at the Dakar before, must never have finished in the top ten of an FIA World Championshipin any discipline, must not appear on any FIA Categorisation List or ASO Elite list, and must have no ties to a vehicle manufacturer or official team. The driver must also never have won a Road to Dakar Challenge previously.

Entry is free and made at the event itself, either when registering for the VAPS HCV Vryheid 400, during administrative checks, or via the event's Clerk of the Course, and closes at the start of racing. The ASO requires a minimum of threeeligible crews for the Challenge to proceed and reserve the right to cancel it at Vryheid specifically if that threshold isn't met.

"It's fantastic to have the Road to Dakar Challenge back on South African soil," said Archie Rutherford, CEO of the SARRC. "We've seen South African crews not only win the Challenge in the past but go on to take up their place on the Dakarstart line in the years since, and that's exactly the kind of pathway we want the SARRC to keep offering."

Round 4 is the penultimate round of the 2026 SARRC season, following Round 3, the Century Property Developments – Century Racing Outeniqua 400. The series concludes with Round 5 in Thabazimbi on 13-14 November.