“I’ve really stepped up the game!”
Crew facts
- There’s no time to wait. At only 18 years of age, Saood Variawa took on his very first Dakar in January 2024. The South African did it in style too as he reached the finish line in 17th position, even managing to capture 5th spot on stage 11. A year later, he went a step higher with a first ever stage win despite finishing 25th.
- In the Variawa family racing runs in the veins. His grandfather Abdul started competing in the 90s and his dad Shameer was a Dakar competitor in 2019 back in Peru. At the time, Saood had come to visit and was already astonished by the size of the event.
- Since then, Shameer has become the head of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team and naturally chose his son for one of his Hilux pickups.
- The young man’s journey to the Dakar actually started on circuits. He indeed first started by karting reaching the highest of FIA championships. Then came touring cars and it wasn’t before 2022 that he started shifting to off-road rallies.
- Saood who also enjoys gaming as well as the wildlife carried on his apprenticeship during 2025, competing in all legs of the W2RC season even managing to finish 6th at the Rallye du Maroc. He also took claimed his first ever title in the South African Rally-Raid championship as well as competing the touring car championship.
- At his side, the Johannesburg native will again be counting on the precious help of Frenchman François Cazalet who was chosen for his experience to teach young Saood the specifities of off-road racing.
- Working as a farmer, François Cazalet had to change his lifestyle when he was contacted by the Variawa family to become Saood’s co-driver on a long-term basis and teach him the skills, techniques and secrets of cross-country rallying.
- The Frenchman who started on the Dakar back in 2022 with USA’s Blade Hildebrand has specialized in mentoring young drivers. Part of the Red Bull Off-road Junior team, he then went on to compete with Cristina Gutierrez (3rd in 2022) and Gregoire de Mévius (3rd in 2023).
- After his experiences in SSVs, he moved up to the Ultimate Class in 2024 with Variawa and reached the finish of the Dakar in a very promising 17th position. A year later both men again reached the finish in 25th spot (capturing a first ever stage win).
- The 40-year-old from Pau who is a former biker and has a passion for cycling, continues his journey with young Saood and after a full season in W2RC as well as the entire South African championship that they managed to win, he’ll will hope to better their performance on the Dakar.
Ambition
S.V.: “It was only my second full season in the South-African championship and it’s something good that I’ve achieved at such a young age. So, on that side, things are exciting. With regards to W2RC and last year’s Dakar, obviously we won a stage and I became the youngest winner in the Ultimate category. I’ve learned a lot throughout the season. I won a stage in the Safari Rally and we had good results in Portugal and Morocco. In general, in only my second year, it’s something that I wouldn’t have thought of. It shows that our pace has stepped up a lot and we are fighting with the top guys.
For Dakar this year, the goal is to maintain a good pace and try and push when needed and bring it to the end of the Dakar hopefully within the Top 10. That’s my aim. We’ve done so much work with the cars. I’ve really stepped up the game. I’ve spent a lot of time in the car. I’ve done the same amount of mileage testing as I’ve done in races. It all adds to experience.
For Dakar this year, the goal is to maintain a good pace and try and push when needed and bring it to the end of the Dakar hopefully within the Top 10. That’s my aim. We’ve done so much work with the cars. I’ve really stepped up the game. I’ve spent a lot of time in the car. I’ve done the same amount of mileage testing as I’ve done in races. It all adds to experience.
F.C.: “We enjoyed a very tight battle in the South African Championship and that shows how much we have improved. Last year we were barely in the Top 10 and this year we won the title. Concerning W2RC, we had a decent Dakar that was ruined on day 3 which was the second day of the 48-hour chrono stage. Other than that, we were always in the Top 10 of stages and we even won a special making Saoud the youngest ever winner of a stage on the Dakar and that’s quite impressive knowing that it was only his second Dakar and that he comes from track racing.
So, we already saw good signs during the Dakar and we managed to confirm that all along the season like in Morocco where we finished 6th. That’s where we currently stand: a place between the 6th and 10th position. Behind the likes of Sainz, Al Attiyah, Loeb, Moraes, Ekstrom, I’d say we are among the leaders of a second group. So it’s interesting before taking on our third Dakar. We’d like to finish in the Top 10 overall. We still have to improve in the dunes where experience is essential. If we finish between the 5th and 10th place it would be a success, and we’d love to win one or two specials.”
