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1973 Safari Rally
*21st East Africa Safari Rally*
1973 Safari Rally; 21st East Africa Safari Rally
Round 4 of the 1973 World Rally Championship season
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Host country	Kenya
Rally base	Nairobi, Kenya
Dates run	April 19, 1973 – April 23, 1973
Length	5,300 km (3,300 miles)
Stage surface	Gravel
Overall distance	5,300 km (3,300 miles) (with 56 points of "time control")
Statistics
Crews	89 at start, 18 at finish
Overall results
Overall winner	Shekhar Mehta; Lofty Drews; Datsun; Datsun 240Z

The 1973 Safari Rally (formally the 21st East Africa Safari Rally) was the fourth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-April in central Kenya, the Safari was a markedly different rally from the other dates on the WRC schedule. About 5,300 km (3,300 mi) of gravel roads comprised the course, though there were not distinct special stages as in other rallies, but instead the course was uncontrolled. The rally was considered very punishing, and thus many of the successful teams were specifically focused on it, leading to a different set of front-runners than led most other rallies. The rally was won by a local driver, Shekhar Mehta.

Report

In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. Like the drivers, the cars were different for Africa than for other rallies. As a result, the successful types did not mirror the results of other rallies on the circuit, and Datsun and Peugeot both made strong showings. Additionally, cars were not broken into separate groups or classes as in other rallies, so only overall results were classified. Time was not measured as the total elapsed through special stages as with other rallies, but instead a penalty was assessed at each time control for not meeting the target: total penalty time was the measure of who was in what place.

Results

1973 Safari Rally results
Finish	Penalty	Car #	Driver Co-driver	Car	Mfr. points
1	6 m : 46 s	1	Shekhar Mehta Lofty Drews	Datsun 240Z	20
2	6 m : 46 s	9	Harry Källström Claes Billstam	Datsun 1800 SSS
3	8 m : 47 s	7	Ove Andersson Jean Todt	Peugeot 504	12
4	9 m : 14 s	19	Tony Fall Mike Wood	Datsun 1800 SSS
5	12 m : 7 s	28	Peter Huth John McConnell	Peugeot 504
6	13 m : 10 s	17	Hugh Lionnet Phillip Hechle	Peugeot 504
7	14 m : 3 s	20	Satwant Singh John Mitchell	Mitsubishi Colt Galant	4
8	14 m : 34 s	23	Robin Ulyate Ivan Smith	Fiat 125 S
9	14 m : 37 s	27	Mike Kirkland Bruce Field	Datsun 1600 SSS
10	15 m : 5 s	44	Jim Noon Rager Barnard	Datsun 1600 SSS
11	16 m : 16 s	18	Joginder Singh Tim Samuels	Mitsubishi Galant
12	17 m : 57 s	15	Zully Remtulla Nizar Jivani	Datsun 1800 SSS
13	18 m : 58 s		Pat Neylan Lofty Reynolds	Mazda RX-2
14	19 m : 8 s	3	Vic Preston Jr. Bev Smith	Ford Escort RS1600
15	20 m : 0 s		Brian Barton Chris Flyer	Datsun 180B
16	20 m : 12 s		Davinder Singh David Doig	Mitsubishi Galant
17	20 m : 19 s		Ewart Walker Anton Levitan	Datsun 1600 SSS
18	20 m : 52 s		John Rose Steve Rose	Datsun 1600 SSS
Retired (mechanical)		2	Roger Clark Jim Porter	Ford Escort RS1600
Retired (mechanical)		4	Hannu Mikkola John Davenport	Ford Escort RS1600
Retired (mechanical)		5	Sobiesław Zasada Marian Bień	Porsche 911
Retired (accident)		6	Rauno Aaltonen Paul Easter	Datsun 240Z
Retired (accident)		8	Bert Shankland Chris Bates	Peugeot 504
Retired (mechanical)		10	Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius	Porsche 911
Retired (mechanical)		11	Edgar Herrmann Hans Schüller	Datsun 240Z
Retired (excluded)		14	Perre Parsons Jim Cowper	Peugeot 504
Retired (accident)		16	Timo Mäkinen Henry Liddon	Ford Escort RS1600
Retired (mechanical)		22	Jack Simonian Mike Doughty	Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV
Retired (mechanical)		25	Bill Fritschy Kim Mandeville	Porsche 911
Retired (accident)		29	Peter Shikuyah Kim Gatende	Ford Escort RS1600

Source: Independent WRC archive^[1]

Championship standings after the event

1973 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers points standings after round 4
After round 4		Team	Season end
Position	Points	Team	Position	Points
1	52	Alpine Renault	1	147
2	22	Datsun	6	34
3	22	Fiat	2	84
4	20	Saab	5	42
5	13	Lancia	13	17
6	12	Citroën	7	33
6	12	Peugeot	16	13
8	12	Ford	3	76
9	8	Porsche	9	27
10	6	Volkswagen	15	15
11	5	Opel	11	25
12	4	BMW	8	28
12	4	Mitsubishi	17	4
11	3	Škoda	18	3
13	2	Volvo	4	44