Cape Route Rally was initially conceived and founded by Antony Ashley… a petrol head through and through.
Antony’s Automotive business experience began with a Luxury car rental company founded the early 2000’s. It was here that his initial passion towards ‘people and cars’ flourished as he set-up high-end tours for discerning tourists visiting Cape Town and surrounds. From there he moved overseas to live, work and race at the mighty Nurburgring in Germany. As the manager of the largest track day rental company in Europe, RSR Nurburg & RSR Spa collectively, Antony set about adding value to the client experience both on and off the track. Many new tours were introduced, and clients could choose from many baseline tours to tailored itineraries. Amongst all the international tourists flocking to the Ring, South Africans flew to Germany and Belgium to join Antony as he played local tour guide and coach on track. These days Antony is back in SA, still in the automotive industry, but now running his vehicle Shipping Company, Car Sales company and making trips to the Ring and Spa for clients. Cape Route Rally is in the line-up, born from passion of sharing motoring experiences, in this case highlighting the best, the Western Cape has to offer.
We have various strategic partnerships within CRR to give it the full strength it requires to offer world class Road Rally’s international visitors expect. Speak to us today to start planning your Cape Route Rally.
Antony Ashley
Cape Route Rally was initially conceived and founded by Antony Ashley, a petrolhead through and through.
Antony’s automotive business experience began with a luxury car rental company founded in the early 2000s. It was here that his initial passion for ‘people and cars’ flourished, as he set up high-end tours for discerning tourists visiting Cape Town and its surrounds.
From there, he moved overseas to live, work, and race at the mighty Nürburgring in Germany. As the manager of the largest track day rental company in Europe—RSR Nurburg and RSR Spa collectively—Antony focused on adding value to the client experience both on and off the track. Many new tours were introduced, allowing clients to choose from a variety of baseline options to tailored itineraries.
Among the international tourists flocking to the Ring, South Africans also flew to Germany and Belgium to join Antony, who served as a local tour guide and on-track coach.
These days, Antony is back in South Africa, still in the automotive industry, now running his vehicle shipping company, car sales company, and making trips to the Ring and Spa for clients. Cape Route Rally is in the line-up, born from a passion for sharing motoring experiences—this time, showcasing the best the Western Cape has to offer.
We have various strategic partnerships within CRR to give it the full strength required to offer the world-class road rallies that international visitors expect. Speak to us today to start planning your Cape Route Rally.
Louis Smit
Louis Smit is an adventurer at heart. He has been hard at work in the 4×4 sector long before it gained popularity in South Africa. Renowned for building tough products for 4x4s at his engineering firm, DSX 4×4, he tests them in the wild alongside friends willing to push their vehicles to the extreme. Highly experienced, knowledgeable, and respected in these circles.
Jason Richards
Jason is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with over 30 years of experience building and scaling companies across the IT, logistics, automotive, and events sectors. As a co-founder of Gravel Kings and several other automotive ventures, he brings a formidable combination of commercial strategy and operational discipline to the Cape Route Rally leadership team.
His deep-rooted passion for motorsport and off-road culture is the driving force behind his professional partnerships. Jason is a well-known figure in the South African 4×4 community, particularly for his “build it right” philosophy – a mindset clearly reflected in his meticulously engineered 2019 Nissan Patrol Y62, which has become a staple of the CRR YouTube channel.
By blending high-level business savviness with decades of hands-on experience in the automotive world, Jason ensures that every Cape Route Rally event is underpinned by professional excellence and an authentic appreciation for the overlanding lifestyle.