Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) is pretty well known in the Rally-Raid space. They have reigned in the South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC) with their Ford Ranger Rally-Raid vehicles, which have been produced in-house on local soil in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
Related: 2024 NWM Ford Ranger Ultimate revealed
The SARRC consists of vehicles that are not only extremely competitive in this championship, but there are vehicles which compete in the Dakar Rally and World Rally-Raid Championship. So naturally, you can expect some fierce competition and extensively developed vehicles. The 2024 Season brought forth the latest evolution of the V6 EcoBoost Ford Ranger, a redesigned and redeveloped vehicle. Herculean looks while keeping the easily recognisable Ranger silhouette and front end while sporting a new livery and improved aerodynamics. This vehicle looks like it's ready to go full pelt offroad.
Brief History
NWM founder Neil Woolridge first got his motorsport chops in enduro motorcycle racing, winning the South African championship in 1983 and 1984 and even finishing 4th overall in the Baja 500 in Mexico in 1984 and 1985. Neil then moved to 4 wheels, racing offroad in self-built vehicles in which he went on to win the Natal regional championship. In 1997, he worked with Mitsubishi which at the time was distributed locally by SAMCOR piloting a Pajero along with co-driver Paul Vermaak in the national championship. In 1998, a lifelong dream of competing in the Paris-Granada-Dakar Rally with co-driver Buks Carolin was fulfilled. In 1999, a new deal saw the team compete in the Granada-Dakar Rally with navigator Kenny Skjoldhammer with a Class T1 podium in 3rd place, the first South African ever to compete in the Class T1 second-tier category. Victory was also claimed in the South African Production Vehicle Championship in 2000, and Protea Colours were awarded, making Neil the only person in South Africa to win colours for both 2 and 4 wheels for cross-country and Rally Raid. In 2000, with the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa's establishment, Neil started racing a standard production Class E Ford Ranger in 2001. As the project progressed over the years, Neil and Kenny won the Super Production (SP) title in 2006 in a Ford Ranger.
In 2010, NWM entered the first diesel vehicle to compete in the top-level SP class but with a modified version of the new at the time Ranger's 3.2 litre 5-cylinder Duratorq engine. After scoring numerous wins with Kenny, Neil decided to hang up the racing boots to focus on the new global project surrounding the latest Ranger. Fast Forward to today, and the torch was passed with Neil's sons Gareth and Lance, thus continuing the winning legacy on local soil and through international ventures with great success, further developments on the Ranger platform. Going against stiff competition in Brazil, Australia, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Czech Republic, Central European and South American regional championships, to name a few.
The Workshop view
We got up close and personal with what makes a competitive rally raid vehicle. It takes a team equivalent to a well-tuned Swiss watch to work on a pair of Rally-Raid vehicles and an engineering team to work out improvements, specs and much more to develop such vehicles to be highly strung machines. FIA regulations to compete are pretty strict, and many parameters have to be followed, such as the approach and departure angles and power restrictions at 264 kW / 600 Nm and a maximum permitted speed of 170 km/h as well to level the playing field. The vehicles have been engineered to withstand harsh terrains with beefed-up cooling, clever aerodynamic tricks, and CAD design to improve upon the many fabricated metal structures, such as the vehicle's Chromoly tubular structure. Pretty much everything bar the engine, transmission and shocks are made in-house and made to international standards. These vehicles and the drivers take a load of punishment, so everything needs to be top-par and made to last. Safely at that, too.
The body panels, doors, and passenger compartment are all constructed with carbon fibre/aramid, and they are all made locally in Pietermaritzburg for strength and featherweight mass. Massive 37-inch tyres form part of the T1+ regulations and are also part of the under 2-minute tyre change in the event of a puncture. Pair that with the fact that an entire driveshaft can be swapped out in under 8 minutes during the 30-minute mandatory service interval. Would you believe that these vehicles have air conditioning to combat the 50°C heat usually encountered in the Dakar Rally events? This is not only to protect the drivers but also electronic equipment that's sensitive to heat.
In conclusion
If you're a motorsport fundi or someone getting into the Rally-Raid sport, the NWM workshop was well worth a visit, and it was great to see the developments produced on local soil. The team at NWM were a pleasure to chat with and impart some motorsport knowledge and experience. You can catch the next few Rally Raid rounds below if you want to see these vehicles in action:
| Round | Date | Event | Venue |
| 4&5 | 16-17 August | Parys 400 | Parys, Free State |
| 6 | 13-14 September | Free State 400 | Welkom, Free State |
| 7 | 8-9 November | Gauteng 400 | Rayton/ Bronkhorstspruit Gauteng |
*Note that this table was correct at the time of writing this article, however, can change at any moment and without notice.
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