The 2025 South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC) is on the horizon, taking Ford and other competitors to Thabazimbi, Limpopo, testing not only their driving abilities, but the endurance of their race cars, too. Now, Ford South Africa has announced the partners that will support The Blue Oval’s efforts during the challenging race.
The Ford Ranger Ultimate, which will represent The Blue Oval in the SARRC, will once again carry the colors of Castrol, which is returning as the title sponsor for the team. Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM), a motorsports outfit located in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa is building the Ranger Ultimate for the event. BP is also backing the team, providing BP Ultimate fuel to the racers.
The event pairs Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea together in a Ford Ranger Ultimate, with Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer driving a second entry in the FIA Ultimate T1+ class. Wors Prinsloo and Andre Vermeulen join the team as a third entry, competing in the South African-spec T1+ class, which differs slightly from the FIA division.
“Ford South Africa has had a successful partnership with Neil Woolridge Motorsport spanning almost three decades. We are delighted to be continuing this association with NWM in the highly competitive South African Rally-Raid Championship, and welcoming Castrol as the team’s title sponsor, along with bp Ultimate and the other sponsors and partners for this year,” said Tarryn Knight, General Manager of Marketing at Ford South Africa, in a statement.
Knight added, “Motorsport is one of our key brand-building pillars for the Ford Ranger, emphasizing this proudly South African-built bakkie’s exceptional capabilities, quality and reliability, along with its ongoing sales success in the popular double cab segment. It captures the essence of our Live the Ranger Life brand proposition that embodies living without limits, driving innovation and technology, and embracing Ford’s community of passionate Ranger owners in South Africa.”
As a reminder, the Ford Ranger Ultimate harnesses the twin-turbocharged 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine. Beyond the SARRC, Ford Performance has been kicking ass off-road, finishing third at the Dakar Rally. In fact, Ford CEO Jim Farley says that The Blue Oval is gunning to position itself as the “Porsche of off-road.”
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