by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG – THE Nissan Spirit of Africa Trophy is revving up for its 21st anniversary and third annual edition under the Nissan banner.
Taking place at the Sandwani Game Lodge in Gauteng, it is hailed as the continent’s toughest 4×4 driving challenge.
Elimination rounds for the 2025 competition began on April 22 with 400 two-person teams testing their off-road driving skills to secure a coveted spot in the Top 20, which will be announced after June 21.
Some 22 select journalists and influencers completed 12 of the 16 total SpirIt of Africa events, competing in four technical and eight high-octane speed challenges.
With a total of 948 points out of 1 200, Brendon Staniforth and Oliver Keohane claimed the top spot, followed by Reuben van Niekerk and Denis Droppa and Willem van de Putte while Anton Willemse emerged third.
Maciej Klenkiewicz, Country Managing Director for Nissan South Africa and Independent Markets Africa (IMA) said, “The surge in enthusiasm and the popularity of this competition – growing from 300 to 400 fully booked team groups in just a year – is remarkable.”
The executive said this year’s series was particularly exciting, with the introduction of the Warrior as the new official competition vehicle.
“The Warrior is specifically engineered for exactly these kinds of intense, severe driving circumstances. We can’t imagine better grounds for proving its capabilities than the Spirit of Africa.”
Nissan is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer.
– CAJ News
