Mathieu Serradori has not run a W2RC race outside of the Dakar Rally and Rallye du Maroc since the series’ inaugural season in 2022. That will change in May when he heads to South Africa to compete in the South African Safari Rally, once again driving his Century CR7.

Serradori typically only does the season finale in Morocco as a dress rehearsal for the Dakar. In 2022, he ran the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Andalucía Rally, finishing fifth in class at the former and fourth in T3 at the latter.

Instead, most of his international rally raids have been either beyond the FIA’s jurisdiction or under the W2RC’s predecessor FIA World Cup He won the Africa Eco Race in 2018 and has also competed in the Silk Way Rally.

“We’ll be behind the wheel of our Century CR7, on a course steeped in history and emotion: the tracks of the 1992 Paris–Cape Town Rally, the last major international rally-raid to venture onto South African soil,” wrote Serradori.

“But this round has a very special flavor: we will have the honor of representing Century Racing on home soil, where it all began for this iconic manufacturer. With Brian Baragwanath, a local and co-ambassador of the CR7, we are proud to fly the Century colors high and showcase the 17 years of work, innovation, and passion instilled by Julien Hardy and his entire team.”

Serradori finished sixth at the Dakar Rally in January, his best career run in the event to date. It was the fourth Dakar with Loïc Minaudier as his navigator, and their first in T1+ with the Century CR7. They began racing the CR7 at Morocco the year prior, where they were disqualified due to underweight wheels but allowed to continue as an Open car.

“We’ll also use this event to validate several important upgrades to the CR7, particularly to the chassis and suspension, in order to continue improving the car’s performance,” continued Serradori.

“Our goal? To rack up miles, improve our teamwork, and make the CR7 shine on these fast, open savannah tracks around the Pilanesberg National Park.”

The South African Safari Rally will take place on May 18–24.

Featured image credit: Frederic Le Floc’h / DPPI