GadgetWheels
Toyota Gazoo finishes strong
Dullstroom may have been caught off guard by the crowds and early birds, but the rally was ready for Dullstroom, writes SHERYL GOLDSTUCK.
The TRAC N4 Dullstroom National Rally brought the 2026 National Rally Championship (NRC) season to a dramatic close, with Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA) crew Mark Jones and Kes Naidoo finishing second in the NRC2 class. The result secured Naidoo the NRC2 co-driver championship and confirmed Jones as runner-up in the drivers’ standings behind class champion Bruce Swatton.
GadgetWheels was in Dullstroom to support Jones and Naidoo as they tackled the final rally of the season. And what a weekend it turned out to be. Between the demanding stages, damaged machinery and a dramatic shake-up among the frontrunners, the Mpumalanga event certainly did not make life easy for the crews.
While Dullstroom was still finding its feet as visitors arrived in droves on Saturday morning, the rally itself was ready to deliver. The town had to contend with the influx of spectators and early risers but, out on the stages, the competitors had a different challenge: keeping their cars on the road and getting to the finish.
A rally that refused to follow the script
The opening stages set the scene for a competitive finale. Johan Strauss and Caro Storm led the way in their Subaru Impreza, with Dawie van der Merwe and Matt Kohler pushing hard behind them. Bruce Swatton and Craig Reyneke held third, followed by Lynton Swatton and Tommy Coetzee, while Jones and Naidoo occupied fifth place in their Toyota GR Yaris.
Saturday, however, had other plans.
Strauss was the first of the leading crews to retire, followed by van der Merwe. Then came the biggest scare of the rally when Bruce Swatton rolled his car heavily just two stages from the finish.
Swatton was taken to hospital as a precaution. The good news was that, apart from some bruising, he was reported to be fine.
With the leading crews dropping out, Lynton Swatton and Coetzee moved into first place to take the class victory, while Jones and Naidoo brought their GR Yaris home in second.
For the Toyota crew, it was a satisfying result after a weekend that could easily have ended very differently.
A hard landing and a long night
Jones and Naidoo had their own battle to fight on Friday. A hard landing over a triple-dip combination, just four kilometres from the end of the final stage, left their GR Yaris with more than a few bruises of its own.
The impact damaged the bottom of the radiator, the intercooler piping and the exhaust. With the exhaust crimped closed, the car lost power, leaving the crew briefly stranded on the stage.
It was one of those moments when a rally crew must decide whether the day is over or whether there is still a way out.
Jones and Naidoo managed to coax the car into moving again, using a bit of clutch work to limp back to service. Their chances of making it through Saturday depended on the work of the TGRSA mechanics, who faced a long night replacing the damaged components.
Their efforts paid off. The GR Yaris was back in fighting shape for Saturday, allowing Jones and Naidoo to complete the final stages without further incident.
“We came down hard on the nose of the car and did a fair bit of damage – the bottom of the radiator, the intercooler, the pipework, and we’d crimped the exhaust closed, so we had no power,” said Jones. “We genuinely thought we were out of the rally, stuck on the stage. Eventually, with a bit of clutch work, we got it moving again and limped home. The TGRSA mechanics did an amazing job overnight to get the car ready for Saturday, and from there we just brought it home – which was the goal.”
A season of development pays off
Jones finished the 2026 NRC2 drivers’ championship in second place with 118 points, 11 behind champion Bruce Swatton on 129. He finished eight points ahead of third-placed Lynton Swatton, who ended the season on 110 points.
Naidoo had plenty of reason to celebrate. His consistent performances throughout the year earned him the NRC2 co-driver championship with 118 points, ahead of Tommy Coetzee on 110.
The results represent a rewarding end to a season. For Jones, the focus was on developing the GR Yaris into a competitive rally machine and giving the team the mileage it needed.
“It’s been a brilliant season,” said Jones. “We were never under pressure to score points or chase podiums – it was always about development, about doing the mileage and bringing the GR Yaris home. If you look at where this car started, almost a road car with a roll cage, to where it is now, it’s a proper rally car. Mission accomplished.”
That transformation has been a team effort, with the car evolving considerably since the beginning of the championship.
TGRSA team manager Leeroy Poulter believes the progress made throughout the season has been significant, both in terms of the machinery and the relationship between the crew members.
“This year has really been a learning curve for us,” said Poulter. “We started the season with a manual gearbox and standard suspension, and the car has turned into something that can genuinely fight for the NRC2 championship. In the car, Mark and Kes had their moments early on, but that relationship got a lot better as the season went on, and they’re reading the notes together really well now.”
With the final chequered flag of the 2026 season now waved, TGRSA can look back on a year of steady development, hard work and a car that has come a long way from its original specification.
The Dullstroom finale provided a fitting test of the team’s progress. Jones and Naidoo survived their Friday-night mechanical drama, returned for Saturday’s stages and secured a result that confirmed their places near the top of the championship standings.
For GadgetWheels, being in Dullstroom to support the pair meant witnessing first-hand just how unpredictable rallying can be. One moment, a crew is battling for position; the next, a damaged car or an unexpected retirement can change the entire order.
Dullstroom may need to brush up on its preparations for the next big influx of visitors, particularly those who like getting up before sunrise, but the rally delivered its share of action.
* Sheryl Goldstuck is general manager of World Wide Worx and editor of GadgetWheels. Follow her on Bluesky on @crazycatbuzz.bsky.social.
