Dullstroom rally to be a true test of man and machine

Can you believe it? It feels like just the other day I was all nerves as I lined for the start of the 2026 National Rally Championship at Gerotek.

And here we are this weekend about to tackle the dirt for the last time at the TRAC N4 Dullstroom National Rally in our TGRSA GR Yaris.

Long and demanding

I am still all nerves. It is the most technical and demanding rally on the calendar. Last year, less than half the field made it to the finish line. One mistake and it is over for any team.

This Mpumalanga-based event runs over two full days and 12 competitive stages, totaling 166km within a wider route of 488km.

Friday’s seven stages are contested in the SAFCOL Belfast Plantation forests, starting from the Dullstroom Oval at 10am before we reach Parc Fermé much later that evening.

Saturday moves to the S&N Timbers plantation for a further five stages, with the rally concluding at Parc Fermé by 2:30pm.

Despite our best intentions, things don’t always go our way, and we have had to retire the car during the year. Picture: Stefan van Niekerk

A finish is vital

The bottom line is that we must finish both days to score any points. This not only makes it an exercise in consistency to close out the season successfully. It also makes it a true endurance test of man and machine.

The current weather forecast for Dullstroom points to a cool, unsettled Friday. With a prediction that says the high will be around 24 degrees and the low near 12 degrees.

But it’s the chance of light rain through the SAFCOL Belfast Plantation stages, before conditions clear for a warmer, largely dry Saturday that is going to test everybody.

Dense plantation forest lines most of the narrow road route. And we have been warned that the stage conditions under the forest canopy differ vastly from the open-road picture.

Our little TGRSA GR Yaris pocket rocket walks through the VW Polo GTI valley of death at every race. Picture: Stefan van Niekerk

A podium maybe

Although the brief was never about chasing points or positions due to this being a development year, we find ourselves going into the finale second in the NRC2 class standings.

Me and co-driver, Kes Naiddo, are chasing class leaders Bruce Swatton and Craig Reyneke in their Volkswagen Polo.

While Lynton Swatton and Tommy Coetzee, also in a Volkswagen Polo, are right on our tails for a step on the podium.

To add a bit of extra drama, seasoned campaigners Johan Strauss and Caro Storm in their Subaru Impreza have entered and they have all the pace in the world when their car works.

And superfast rookie, Dawie van der Merwe and Matt Kohler in a Volkswagen Polo, who cleaned up at the Algoa National Rally, are looking to finish on top again.

This means they can easily upset the apple cart for us within an impressive 40-car overall entry for this finale.

No two rallies have been the same this year, and the unexpected should always be expected. Picture: Stefan van Niekerk

Development continues

Despite it being the final outing of the year, it doesn’t mean that development has stopped on our TGRSA GR Yaris.

The TRAC N4 Dullstroom National Rally will see us debut a new WRC-based wide-body kit and large rear wing on the car. And this will give us more high-speed downforce and stability.

There have also been some tweaks made to the cars tuning and mapping to improve power delivery in the stages.

Also, an intercooler spray kit, which is automatically triggered when things get too hot under the hood, has been fitted to manage intake temperatures.

Without a dedicated team behind the car, we would not be where we are this year. Picture: Stefan van Niekerk

We learn all the time

This has been a big year of development for the TGRSA GR Yaris and a proper learning curve for us and our technical crew.

I really want us to finish it the way we started. Pushing hard where we can and still bringing the car home. A strong result at Dullstroom would be the perfect way to close out 2026.