Jayden Els has proven to be a young yet fast driver in South Africa, so much so that he even clinched his ticket to compete in the Dakar Rally despite his youth that ultimately went unused. Nonetheless, his talent has convinced Red-Lined Motorsport to sign him to a multi-year factory contract with a roadmap to the 2027 Dakar.

Els won the Road to Dakar at the 2023 TGR 1000 Desert Race, which he entered in an SVR for King Price Xtreme. While this assured him of free registration for the 2024 or 2025 Dakar Rallies, he opted not to race either edition as his focus remained back home in the South African Rally-Raid Championship.

He remained in the SVR for the 2024 SARRC, but got a taste of the T1+ subcategory at the final two rounds. After his SVR was knocked out of commission by a testing accident, Century Racing lent him a CR7 that he drove to a seventh-place finish in the Phakisa 400.

Red-Lined then signed him up for the season finale in the REVO GT-R. He was knocked out by a mechanical issue on the first day but placed fourth the next day.

“We identified Jayden’s talent some time back and followed his progress before offering him a drive in our REVO GT-R for the final event of last year’s South African Championship,” said Red-Lined boss Terence Marsh. “Our suspicions were confirmed by a very impressive performance that weekend.

“Jayden comes aboard as a REVO GT-R factory driver through our Red-Lined Academy Program in a global Road to Dakar campaign. Starting with this year’s first South African World Rally-Raid Cup round, a national and international program as well as a training program will follow with an eye on Dakar 2027. We will work together with Jayden to develop him as an athlete, a driver and a brand ambassador, while also targeting potential sponsors to support his global ambitions.”

Els began his career in karting at the age of seven, eventually going on to win the 2016 Rotax Mini MAX Challenge Finals at the age of 12. He then tried out rallying, doing so at such a young age that he wasn’t allowed to drive his car on road sections.

“I am hugely grateful to Terence and the Red-Lined team for recognizing my efforts as a driver so far,” added Els. “I am now ready to grow, learn and develop as part of this experienced and respected Red-Lined Motorsport team, and to soon once again fly the South African flag on the global stage. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank my parents for the opportunities they have given me to develop to this point. I hope to make them even prouder in the future.”

Developed in 2024, the REVO GT-R is Red-Lined Motorsport’s second time building a T1+ car. As its name suggests, the GT-R uses a twin-turbo V6 VR38DETT from the Nissan R35 GT-R.

Red-Lined had seven cars at the 2025 Dakar Rally, including five of REVO T1+. Aliyyah Koloc finished highest of the group with a 35th in Ultimate.

Featured image credit: Red-Lined Motorsport