Century Racing chooses Botswana for Dakar Preparations
Kabelo Boranabi | Wednesday September 17, 2025 06:42
“Yes, we are planning how to coordinate some bigger events next year by collaborating with them and other teams,” Ahmad SportMonitor confirmed that world-renowned Dakar Rally outfit, Century Racing, will be returning for further testing in Botswana.
The South African squad, which recently trialed its brand-new Century CR7 in Khawa, heaped praise on the local terrain, describing it as the “best test ever.” Their star drivers, Mathieu Serradori and Brian Baragwanath, pushed the car through Khawa’s dunes, camel grass, and sandy stretches late last month, finding conditions that mirror Dakar’s grueling challenges.
“They will come again to do further testing in Botswana, and we are building up to the Mantshwabisi 500 in November, where we already have a lot of international interest,” Ahmad added.
The Mantshwabisi 500, set for next month, will close out the 2025 BORRC season and is shaping up to be the biggest off-road spectacle yet on local soil. International entries are already lining up, underscoring Botswana’s reputation as more than just a testing ground but a competitive rally destination.
Century Racing’s visit was coordinated by Cyro Motorsport Group and Botswana Motorsport (BMS), with strong backing from the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) and the Ministry of Sport and Arts (MOSA). The collaboration is part of a wider strategy to attract world-class rally teams to Botswana while boosting tourism and creating economic spinoffs for local communities.
The growing stature of BORRC has been driven by consistent investment and support from sponsors such as Botswana Oil, Coca-Cola Beverages Botswana, Flying Cargo, Haskins, Debswana, and Petro Hyper, alongside the Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO). Together, they have helped transform local desert racing into a structured, internationally appealing platform.
Botswana’s landscapes are now spoken of in the same breath as rally raid hotspots in South America and the Middle East. For Ahmad and his team, the goal is to leverage the country’s unique terrain to cement its place on the global motorsport map.
“The momentum is here,” Ahmad said. “We are positioning Botswana not just as a stopover, but as a rally raid destination of choice.”