Features / 24 August 2024 / Michael Taylor

Chasing South African rally racers in the Ford Ranger Raptor – Photos

Ford is a major proponent of motorsport in South Africa with a strong presence at many of the nation’s competitive events, including the South African Rally Raid Championship (SARRC).

The SARRC kicked off the second half of the season this past weekend with two action-packed days of epic racing out in the Free State in the small town of Parys.

Luckily, the Blue Oval was kind enough to send an invitation our way to join them at the event, where the media were handed the keys to a set of Ranger Raptors and toured around the race’s various viewing points to catch the competitors in action tearing up the dirt.

A rally you don’t want to miss

Following a rather early start for our group of Gauteng-based media, we arrived in Parys only to see plumes of dust being kicked up in the distance.

A little ways out of town was the base camp for the day’s festivities, where Ford and other rivals like Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division were already set up with extensive field workshops preparing the cars for the coming trials.

All while this was going on, other drivers were already out in the qualifying stages in a 15km field track, explaining the large dust clouds and accompanying engine noises we experienced on approach to the site.

The Blue Oval’s crew, known as the Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NVM) Ford Rally-Raid Team (sponsored by Shell), was hard at work preparing its pair of highly capable V6 racing machines, and it wasn’t long before the cars started to line up for the go.

Unfortunately, we missed the start of the race itself, as the plan for the day was to hop behind the wheel of the Raptors and head to several viewpoints that our hosts had picked out for us, which necessitated that we stay one step ahead of the drivers if we hoped to catch them at the scene.

The most encouraging thing about the whole experience was the impressive turnout, as the northern Free State was littered with cars parked left and right of the road or out in fields, with men, women, and children all lined up to watch the racers in progress, complete with umbrellas, plenty of drinks, and speakers erected in the back of bakkies.

It was quite entertaining to see motorists indirectly showing support for their preferred brand as well, as the vast majority of vehicles at each stopping point consisted of Ford Rangers and Everests, or Toyota Hiluxes and Land Cruisers.

As for the event itself, to say that the performance on display was impressive would be an understatement.

One of the best viewing points had us placed at the top of a hill, and it was awesome to see a dust cloud rapidly approaching in the distance before one could even make out the car causing it.

The auditory sensation is one that any petrolhead can appreciate as the high-octane vehicles whipped past with their exhausts angrily spitting out explosions, and the dirt being kicked up soon meant that anyone standing near the track had to duck for cover.

Each car drives past at controlled intervals, as the rally works on a time-based point system rather than a simple start-to-finish race format.

The drivers cover a 175km loop, which is followed by a mandatory 30-minute service stop before the loop is repeated in the afternoon session.

The pitstop gave the perfect opportunity for lunch, and then it was back out on the road passing well-organized marshals controlling the traffic for the stretch where the rally ran across the public road.

At the end of the day, Ford has fought a tough battle out in the dirt, having experienced setbacks like a suspension joint failure and a punctured tyre that led to one of the pairs retiring from the race.

Despite this, the Blue Oval’s other team managed to secure a respectable fourth position, showing tenacity in the face of competition.

All in all, the SARRC is tremendous fun for anyone with an interest in motorsport in South Africa, and I highly recommend that you make the time to go and watch it in person when the next stage pulls through your town.