When the South African Rally-Raid Championship arrives in Stella in the North West Province later this month, competitors will face the ultimate test of endurance as they tackle the GR Stella 1000 Marathon, the only three-day event on the 2026 championship calendar and the longest, toughest challenge in South African rally-raid racing.
Image Dave Ledbitter
Taking place from 24 to 26 July, the GR Stella 1000 Marathon will cover almost 1,000 kilometres of demanding terrain, placing crews, vehicles and teams under sustained pressure in a way no other event on the national calendar can. More than outright speed, success at the marathon event demands careful strategy, faultless navigation, mechanical reliability and the ability to manage both driver and machine over three gruelling days of competition.
As title sponsor, Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa lends its name to an event that reflects the values at the heart of Toyota’s motorsport philosophy. The company’s commitment to Quality, Durability and Reliability (QDR) has long been proven in the harshest rally-raid environments around the world, including the Dakar Rally and the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), where GR Hilux has established itself as one of the benchmark vehicles in international competition.
The GR Stella 1000 Marathon provides South African competitors with the country’s closest equivalent to that level of endurance racing, offering a true test of both human and mechanical resilience.
“The 1000 Marathon has always been one of the iconic events on the South African motorsport calendar,” said Glenn Crompton, Vice President: Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors. “Marathon racing is at the very heart of rally-raid. While our event is contested over three days rather than the two weeks of the Dakar Rally, it asks many of the same questions of crews and their vehicles. It tests people and machinery in a way that no normal weekend event can.”
The Stella area already earned international recognition during the inaugural South African Safari Rally in 2025, when it hosted the overnight bivouac for the marathon stage of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship. Many of the country’s leading competitors experienced the demanding terrain during that event, providing a taste of what awaits when they return later this month.
While the event looks firmly to the future, it also continues a proud Toyota tradition. The company’s association with South African marathon rally-raid racing stretches back more than four decades, from the original Toyota Trans Kalahari events through the legendary Toyota 1000 Desert Race and now the GR Stella 1000 Marathon. Throughout that period, Toyota has consistently demonstrated the quality, durability and reliability that underpin both its production vehicles and its global motorsport programme.
The 2026 edition of the GR Stella 1000 Marathon will once again bring together the country’s leading rally-raid competitors for three days of intense competition across the vast cattle farming region surrounding Stella. The event will feature demanding special stages, overnight servicing, and the kind of relentless endurance challenge that has made marathon rally-raid racing one of the most respected disciplines in motorsport.
With championship points, pride and endurance all on the line, competitors will arrive in Stella knowing that only those who can combine speed with consistency, precision and reliability will stand atop the podium when the final kilometres have been completed.
“We are extremely honoured and proud of our longstanding relationship with Toyota and highly respectful of their outstanding performance over many decades and look forward to the forthcoming GR Stella 1000 Marathon in the North-West Province in a week’s time,” said SARR CEO, Archie Rutherford.
