Adam Kaplan wins Sunraysia Safari in REVO T1+’s Australian debut

Red-Lined Motorsport‘s REVO T1+ has taken on rallies across the world, but only needed one stop in Australia to already be a winner there. Adam Kaplan dominated the first three days of the eleven-stage Sunraysia Safari Creoss Country Rally to secure the victory outright.

With Aleshia Penney as navigator, Kaplan set the fastest time on the first day, clearing the WRC-branded Subaru Crosstrek of Dean Herridge by nearly three minutes, then repeated the feat in Day 2. He kept his foot on the pedal and built his lead even more during the third stage while Herridge finished seventh, effectively securing the win for Kaplan.

Kaplan got lost on the first corner to start the final day and lost two minutes, which he called “the dumbest thing ever but that happens.” The misadventures prevented a sweep as Will Dunn‘s Nissan Patrol beat Herridge for the stage win. Kaplan still joined them on the day’s podium.

Developed in South Africa, the REVO has been busy since its début in 2023. After primarily competing in the South African Rally-Raid Championship, it has competed in the Dakar Rally, World Rally-Raid Championship, FIA Baja Cups, and even the Taklimakan Rally in China. The vehicle was Red-Lined’s first vehicle for the T1+ subcategory.

“A really big SHOUT OUT to Adam Kaplan and Aleshia Penney on winning the 4 day 11 stage 1200km Sunraysia Safari Rally in their AEH powered REVO T1+,” wrote Red-Lined boss Terence Marsh, “this was the debut event for our T1+ race car in Australia so to say that we are PROUD is an understatement!!!”

Despite the Stage #4 win, Dunn narrowly missed the overall top three by ten seconds to Darren Webster, who had a blown transfer case. The last day saw the longest stage of 250 kilometres.

“That one was unexpected,” Webster quipped. “We were expecting everything to fall off but not the transfer case. We were on the box on a two-wheel drive, so the fun never stops with us. There’s always something going on.”

Defending Auto winner Tony Quinn was among the retirements.

Corey Banks battled with Ben Langford for the Moto victory and came out on top. 2023 runner-up Toby Hederics initially held the advantage before retiring halfway with a mechanical issue, though the organisers allowed him to continue on a safety bike to help him gain experience ahead of the 2025 Dakar Rally.

“In the grand scheme of things, this event to me was always about training and preparation so I’m not too disappointed about that,” Hederics commented.

Fellow Dakar-bound rider Andrew Houlihan finished eighth and won the Adventure Bike category. Although Houlihan is racing a KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica at Dakar, he entered Sunraysia on a GasGas 700 dual-sport bike.

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