Stage 2 of the South African Safari Rally delivered a brutal test for riders and drivers alike, marking the start of the rally’s marathon section with the longest special stage of the week. From mechanical failures to navigation mishaps, the stage proved decisive across all categories.

RallyGP: Sanders Surges, Schareina Out

The RallyGP class began with shocking news: world championship contender Tosha Schareina was a non-starter after crashing on Stage 1. The Spaniard suffered damage to both his bike and left hand.

Ross Branch, buoyed by his Stage 1 win, saw his luck run out when a bird strike broke his oil cooler, forcing him to stop and costing over 90 minutes. “Just unlucky,” the world champion said. Despite the setback, he managed to complete the stage.

Hero MotoSports teammate Nacho Cornejo, who trained in Italy to prepare for the hard-pack terrain, had a more consistent outing and finished sixth.

KTM dominated the day with a 1-2 finish. Luciano Benavides took second on the stage and moved into second overall, aiming for his first podium finish of the season. But it was Daniel Sanders who stole the show, catching and passing top rivals Brabec and Van Beveren to take the stage win and overall lead.

Ricky Brabec was Honda’s best performer, albeit nearly five minutes behind Sanders. Skyler Howes improved on his poor navigation from Stage 1 but remains over 20 minutes off the pace.

Stage 2 RallyGP Results

1. Daniel Sanders

2. Luciano Benavides (+32s)

3. Ricky Brabec (+~5m)

Overall RallyGP Standings

1. Sanders

2. Benavides

3. Van Beveren

4. Brabec

---

Rally2: Canet in Command

Red Bull KTM’s Edgar Canet secured his second straight stage victory in Rally2, despite fatigue in the final stretch. He now looks increasingly likely to take the overall title.

Chilean rider Ruy Barbosa continued gaining valuable experience and currently sits fifth overall. Poland’s Konrad Dabrowski sits just ahead in fourth, though navigation errors cost him valuable time.

Stage 2 Rally2 Results

1. Edgar Canet

2. Mike Docherty (+6m14s)

3. Tobias Ebster

Overall Rally2 Standings

1. Edgar Canet – the man to beat

---

Quads: Kanopkinas Comes Back

After mechanical issues in Stage 1, Antanas Kanopkinas bounced back with a dominant win over teammate Gaetan Martinez. With Marek Loj crashing out, the quad category has become a two-horse race between the CFMoto Thunder Racing teammates.

Overall Quads Standings

1. Gaetan Martinez

2. Antanas Kanopkinas (+22m02s)

---

Ultimate: South Africans Shine, Quintero Takes Lead

Stage 2 was a minefield for front-runners in the Ultimate class. The first five drivers out lost significant time due to tricky navigation. Henk Lategan slipped to fifth, while Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma struggled but avoided disaster.

Local knowledge paid off for South African drivers Guy Botterill and Saood Variawa, who capitalized on their later start positions. Botterill claimed his first world championship stage win, benefiting from a penalty that dropped Guillaume de Mevius to third.

Toyota’s Seth Quintero now leads overall after a strong performance and a 15-minute penalty for Nasser Al Attiyah, who missed a waypoint.

Stage 2 Ultimate Results

1. Guy Botterill

2. Saood Variawa (+55s)

3. Guillaume de Mevius (post-penalty)

Overall Ultimate Standings

1. Seth Quintero

2. Brian Baragwanath

3. Guillaume de Mevius
   (Tight top five, separated by just 2m09s)

---

Challenger: Cavigliasso Bounces Back

Argentina’s Nicolas Cavigliasso and his wife Valentina took the Challenger stage win, pushing back into overall contention after a tough Stage 1. Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel moved up the leaderboard thanks to others’ penalties.

Stage 2 Challenger Results

1. Nicolas Cavigliasso

2. Dania Akeel

3. Khalifa Al Attiyah

Overall Challenger Standings
Top 3 separated by just 90 seconds

---

SSV: Pinto Prevails

Mario Franco looked set for his first stage win in SSV before a 2-minute penalty handed victory to Alexandre Pinto and co-driver Bernardo Oliveira. The Portuguese duo bounced back after suspension issues on Stage 1 and now aim to protect their W2RC lead.

Stage 2 SSV Results

1. Alexandre Pinto

2. Mario Franco (+penalty)

3. Enrico Gaspari

Overall SSV Standings
Franco leads by 2.5 minutes

---

Behind the Scenes: How Teams Follow the Action

With little real-time information and no direct contact with competitors once they leave the bivouac, team engineers monitor split times, vehicle data, and maps, preparing for crucial repairs when the vehicles return.

“You see a bad split time, and there’s nothing you can do,” said Ford M-Sport team principal Matthew Wilson. Dacia Sandriders’ Tiphanie Isnard echoed the sentiment, highlighting the blind nature of rally-raid racing.

---

Next Up: Stage 3

The marathon continues tomorrow with Stage 3, promising more drama in one of the toughest rallies on the calendar.

DreamSports.tv will deliver comprehensive coverage of the event, including Daily Highlight Shows with expert commentary and in-depth analysis.