Hoping to give privateers in vehicles from Red-Lined Motorsport their due, the manufacturer has launched the Red-Lined T1 Adventure Cup for the 2025 South African Rally-Raid Championship.
Any non-factory driver piloting a Red-Lined VK50, VK56, REVO T1+, or even the new REVO+ GT-R in the Adventurer category is eligible for the Red-Lined Cup. Adventurer is a subsect of the usual Ultimate class, classified as T1 while the latter is T1+.
If the trophy existed for 2024 and the season ended today, Gerhard Heinlein would be the winner as he currently leads the Adventurer class standings outright after five of six rounds. Heinlein races a Red-Lined VK56 Evo2.
“Our Red-Lined privateers continue to do us proud, with two of them currently fighting it out for the 2024 South African Rally-Raid T1 class championship,” said Red-Lined Motorsport CEO Terence Marsh. “Looking ahead we feel the need to better recognise our customer teams, so from 2025, we will present the Red-Lined T1 Cup.
“Open to any privateers competing in a Red-Lined VK50, VK56 or REVO in the T1 Adventure Class of the South African Rally Raid Championship, the Red-Lined Cup is a ‘single manufacturer’ type series within the National Championship. Not only will the overall winners get to lift the inaugural Red-Lined T1 Cup trophy, they will also be receiving some really cool prizes for their efforts.
“We look forward to confirming the final details of the Cup following negotiations with our various partners, but rest assured, it will be rewarding for our overall winning privateer crew. The only prerequisite is that the crew must race a Red-Lined VK50, VK56, or REVO in the T1 class of the 2025 South African Rally Raid Championship. The best placed T1 crew at the end of the championship will then lift the Red-Lined Cup and associated prizes.
“We are really looking forward to this championship within a championship where our privateer customers in equally performing race machines get the opportunity to go head-to-head for the Red-Lined Cup and associated bragging rights.”
Red-Lined’s VK50 and VK56 are T1 cars based on the Nissan Navara. The company débuted in T1+ with the Red-Lined REVO T1+ in 2023, followed by the upgraded REVO+ GT-R introduced in April. The T1+ cars have seen action in SARRC as well as the World Rally-Raid Championship and Dakar Rally, while the T1+ won in its maiden Australian rally in September. The GT-R model uses an engine from the Nissan R35 GT-R whereas the REVO T1+ has the same engine as the VK56.
