Neil Woolridge (NWM Team Principal)

Neil Woolridge is a multiple motorsport champion and the only person in South Africa to receive national colours on two and four wheels for cross country racing. Among his many exceptional achievements, Neil competed in the 1998 and 1999 editions of the Dakar Rally - finishing the latter third in class and becoming the first South African to complete this gruelling event in the car category.

Neil started in motorcycle enduro racing at the age of 17, going on to compete locally and internationally. He moved into cars in the late 1980s and has become synonymous with cross country racing (now called rally-raid) in South Africa and around the world through Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) - which is run by Neil and his two sons, Lance and Gareth.

His association with Ford spans almost three decades, including winning the 2006 Super Production title in the SA championship in a Ford Ranger. Using this vast experience, Neil developed NWM into a world-class producer of premier level rally-raid vehicles that are capable of winning anywhere in the world against the top manufacturers in this highly competitive field.

Neil is one of the elite competitors that earned his Protea Colours for Motorsport - a proud achievement that is also shared with sons Lance and Gareth, and co-driver Boyd Dreyer.

Lance Woolridge (NWM Operations Manager)

Racing is in the blood of the Woolridge family, and Lance had his first competitive outing in 2008 at the age of 16. He moved up to a Class E Ford Ranger the following year. As Operations Manager for Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM), Lance is responsible for managing the building of new race cars, customer relations, and the maintenance of the team’s South African championship vehicles.

He is also a regular competitor in the premier class of the SA Rally-Raid Championship, alongside younger brother Gareth in the pair of mighty NWM Ford Ranger Ultimate vehicles. For the 2025 season, Lance will be focusing on operational management of the team, using his vast experience in the sport to ensure it remains competitive at the highest level.

Lance won back-to-back Class T titles in the V8-powered NWM Ford Ranger (2018 and 2019), and finished a close second in the 2021 championship in the pioneering new T1 EcoBoost-powered NWM Ranger.

In the 2024 season, competing with the latest specification NWM Ranger Ultimate, Lance and navigator Kenny Gilbert scored three podium finishes - including second overall at the three-day 1 000km Safari Rally.

Internationally, Lance competed in the tough seven-day 3 200km 2016 Rally dos Sertões in Brazil, finishing an impressive second overall in the proudly SA-built NWM Ranger. More recently, he became the first and only South African to have competed in the innovative all-electric Extreme E series against the best rally-raid drivers in the world, driving for the UK-based team Veloce Racing.

Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer (#277)

Gareth and long-time navigator Boyd Dreyer reached the highest level of South African rally-raid competition when they won the Overall Production Vehicle and Class T1+ titles in the 2023 SA Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC).

Gareth’s racing career kicked off when he was 16, following in Lance’s footsteps. Success soon followed, as he won the KwaZulu-Natal championship in his first year and claimed his second regional title the following season - for which he was awarded KwaZulu-Natal colours for motorsport at the age of 18. After matriculating in 2012 Gareth went straight to work at the Neil Woolridge Motors 4x4 Centre, and then later moved over to the motorsport division as a technician building and preparing race cars.

In 2014 Gareth was sponsored by Polaris to compete in the regional side-by-side championship, then moving up to the national series in 2014, achieving second place in the championship. The NWM team elected to put Gareth in a powerful Class T Ford Ranger V8 for the 2015 season, where he regularly finished as the highest-placed privateer. Gareth made his international motorsport debut in 2018 by competing in Brazil’s arduous seven-day 3 600km Rally dos Sertões, finishing 10th overall and winning his class.

Gareth was an integral part of the team leading the design and development of the all-new EcoBoost V6-powered FIA-class T1 Ford Ranger, including undergoing specialised training at BOS Suspension in France. He filled in as a support driver in the 2019 and 2020 season and continued to show exceptional pace. Competing in the premier FIA-class for 2021 with the new EcoBoost T1 Ranger, Gareth ended fourth in the championship.

Gareth and Boyd secured their first overall SARRC race victory at the 2022 season finale in Parys, which set the tone for their championship victories the following year, scoring three wins and a total of six podiums.

The young duo went on to compete at their first Dakar Rally in 2024, where they notched up a best result of seventh place overall on the final stage - proving that they and the NWM Ranger are capable to competing with the best in the world.

Gareth is the Technical Head of Neil Woolridge Motorsport, responsible for the production and maintenance of the team’s local race vehicles, as well as for customer teams around the world.

When Boyd isn’t occupied with race navigation, he is a director of an agricultural vehicle and trucking services company.

Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea (#217)

Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea will be competing in the 2025 SA Rally-Raid Championship in a second Castrol NWM Ford Ranger - competing in the full international FIA-specification Ultimate class.

The Brazilian crew are certainly not newcomers to the South African championship, having raced here on numerous occasions since 2018, including claiming their first local victory at the 2019 season-ending Parys 400, competing in a Class T NWM Ranger V8.

Marcos and Kleber have an impressive international pedigree, having secured a total of five and three Brazilian Cross Country Championship titles respectively for drivers and navigators.

They won the South American championship in 2019, and stood on the top step of the podium at the 2020 Rally dos Sertões, along with numerous runner-up finishes to their credit from 22 participations in this tough race.

The Brazilian pair have competed in two Dakar Rally events, starting in 2019 where they finished sixth overall in the side-by-side vehicle (SSV) category, and they took on the Dakar again in 2024 in the Ultimate class. They also contested the full World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) last year, so bring vast experience at the top level of the international rally-raid scene to their South African campaign this year.

Wors Prinsloo and Andre Vermeulen (#341)

The Castrol NWM Ford Team will feature a third car this season, as the NWM-supported privateer team of Wors Prinsloo and Andre Vermeulen has been incorporated into the team with their Ranger Ultimate.

The pair started racing the V8-powered NWM Ranger in Class T in 2020, finishing third in their debut season and moving up to second place at the end of the following year.

Wors and Andre moved up to the premier T1+ category in 2023, finishing an impressive 10th overall in a very competitive field. After a shortened campaign last year due to business commitments, the team will be returning to the fray this year in the latest specification NWM Ranger Ultimate - now in Castrol and BP Ultimate colours.

They will be competing in the new SA Ultimate class, which uses the same NWM Ranger but with a slightly different specification and more affordable engine management system compared to the FIA Ultimate class.

While the FIA Ultimate and SA Ultimate competitors will be going head-to-head for their respective class championships, they will compete on equal terms for the overall 2025 SARRC title.