Summarize

It was a huge weekend as Red-Lined Motorsport took control of two of the 2026 South African Rally Raid Championship classes at the second round GR Stella 1000 Marathon event in the North West province. A trio of Red-Lined REVO V8’s made the SA T1+ class their own with a brilliant 1-2-3 result, backed by a compelling Red-Lined VK50 1-2 in the T1 Adventure class. These collective results saw the proudly South African manufacturer take two class wins and an impressive five podiums, in the longest and most demanding event of the season. 

“The tough and challenging thousand-kilometre Stella 1000 Marathon event definitely produced one of our best-ever results,” a delighted Red-Lined Group CEO Terence Marsh explains. “Three Red-Lined REVO T1+ V8s came home in a dominant 1-2-3, while a pair of our tried and tested T1 VK50’s made the T1 class their own with a fine 1-2 finish. We simply could not have wished for a better outcome in what was a really tough event with a high attrition rate!”

The weekend-long three-day battle between Red-Lined REVO T1+ crews, father and son Johan and Sean van Staden’s KEC Racing version and Penta Motor Group duo Philip Botha and Andries Mynhardt was one of the highlights of the race. Botha and Mynhardt led the way on Friday, but the van Staden’s moved ahead on the Saturday and Sunday to take a stellar sixth overall amongst some far more fancied factory teams. Botha and Mynhardt eventually ended second in class, a mere two minutes back in an impressive eighth overall. 

Rally Raid rookies Abri and Iaan Olivier continued to impress as they improve at every outing to bring their VAPS HCV Rally-Raid REVO T1+ home third in class to score a maiden National podium. Hot on their heels were teammates Peet Victor and Van Zyl Jonk in their Red-Lined T1 VK50. Delighted by a dominant class victory, they led from start to finish to score a back-to-back win and sit firmly on top of the T1 Class standings. Newcomers, Nielen Marx and Rikus Hattingh closed off a brilliant weekend with second in the T1 class to make it a Red-Lined VK50 1- 2 for the Kyalami based manufacturer.

“As tough and demanding as the GR Stella 1000 Marathon was, it was a huge success for Red-Lined Motorsport” Terence concludes. “Dominating both classes as we did, is a huge feather in our cap and we salute and thank every member of our extensive team, our partners, suppliers and of course all our loyal fans. Next up, we make our way down to the Garden Route for the third round of the South African Championship, the Outeniqua 400 on 28 and 29 August. 

“This Stella result may prove a hard act to follow, but we certainly would like to do it again as the team thoroughly enjoyed all the silverware and champagne!”