South African Safari, Stage 2 – Quintero takes the lead, problems at Dacia

South African Safari Rally 2025 Rankings – Stage 2:

General ranking after Stage 2:

• The second stage of the South African Safari Rally, contested for the first time as part of the World Championship rally-raid (W2RC), shook up the rankings this Wednesday, May 21. The day after a muddy first stage, the competitors faced 356 km of timed sections, mostly in the savannah.
• It was a demanding day. Several competitors received penalties for missing waypoints (mandatory checkpoints). Initially credited with the fastest time, Guillaume de Mévius and Xavier Panseri (Mini) dropped to third place. The penalty was more severe for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger (Dacia): 3 minutes! "It has a huge impact.", recognizes Tiphanie Isnard, the Team Principal of Dacia Sandrider.
• For the stage win, the South Africans Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy (Toyota) took advantage of this to set the best time, ahead of their compatriot Saood Variawa and the French navigator François Cazalet (Toyota).

• Due to the penalty received by Nasser Al Attiyah, Seth Quintero (Toyota, pictured above) is the new leader of the race. The American succeeds Henk Lategan, who drops to 5th position (+2'09). Brian Baragwanath with his Century Racing is 2nd, just 13'' behind. Lucas Moraes-Armand Monleon completes the podium (+1'31''). A Toyota succeeds another in the general classification, and two Toyota Gazoo Racing cars are on the podium.