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Safari Rally
Safari Rally
Status	Active
Genre	Motor Sport event
Date(s)	June
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	Great Rift Valley
Country	Kenya
Inaugurated	1953
Website	https://www.safarirally.ke/

The Safari Rally is an automobile rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is historically regarded as one of the toughest events in the World Rally Championship, and one of the most popular rallies in Africa. From 2003, a historical event (East African Safari Rally) has been held biennially.

History

It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika,^[1] as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1960 it was renamed the East African Safari Rally and kept that name until 1974, when it became the Safari Rally. From 1973, the rally was part of the World Rally Championship.^[2]

The 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) route featured a variety of roads and terrain - from fesh fesh (very fine powdered sand), fast farm tracks, and very rough roads up or down the Great Rift Valley. In heavy rain, roads would often turn into thick, deep mud.^[2]^[3] The event was run on open roads, with all of the route being competitive mileage.^[4] The driver with the lowest accumulation of penalty time between time controls was declared the winner.^[4]

The rally was historically one of the fastest events in the world championship with average speeds over 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).^[5] However, the roughness of the terrain and the long stages meant that the winner was often the most reliable or the fastest cautious driver.^[2]^[6] In later years, top rally teams would use helicopters to fly ahead of the cars to warn of animals or other vehicles on the rally route.

Teams built specially strengthened cars for the event, with bullbars, snorkels (for river crossings) and bright lights to warn wildlife.^[6]^[7] In the 1990s, Toyota Team Europe had a full-time test team in Kenya, preparing and testing the rally cars for the event.^[8]^[7] During the rally, repairs had to be regularly made to the cars, which added to the elapsed time of the competitors.^[9] In later years, tyre mousse - allowing tyres to maintain functionality despite a puncture - allowed drivers to tackle the event flat out, despite the length of the event.^[6]

In 1996, the event adopted the special stage format, and servicing cars from helicopters was prohibited.^[2] From that edition until 2002, it featured around 2000 km of timed stages, with stages well over 60 kilometres (37 mi) long, unlike most rallies which had under 500 kilometres (310 mi) of total timed distance. This meant that the winner's total time penalty was above 12 hours in 1996 and decreased to two seconds shy of 8 hours in 2002. Despite this, the rally continued to be run on open roads.^[10] The event was excluded from the WRC calendar due to a lack of finance and organisation in 2003.^[2]

Modern event

From the 2003 edition, the event became part of the African Rally Championship.^[10] The event was modernised, with shorter stages and running on closed roads - like other events in the World Championship.^[11] Two editions of the rally - 2007 and 2009 - were also part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. In 2013, President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta announced a plan to return the Safari Rally to the world championship.^[12]

On the 27 September 2019, it was announced that the 2020 edition would be part of the World Rally Championship. This event was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3] The Safari Rally eventually made a comeback to the WRC in 2021 after an eighteen-year hiatus from the 24–27 June, with a successful event held in Kenya on the floor of the Rift Valley in Naivasha, Nakuru County.^[13] Sebastian Ogier and Julien Ingrassia emerged as winners in their Toyota Yaris WRC.^[11] The Safari has a WRC contract until 2026.^[12]

Winners

Kenyan drivers Shekhar Mehta and Carl Tundo have been the most successful competitors, with five outright victories each. Mehta won first in 1973, then consecutively from 1979 to 1982 - all while the event was part of the world championship. Tundo won five editions when the event was part of the African Rally Championship - the 2004, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2018 events. Tundo has also finished on the podium twelve times, ahead of fellow Kenyan Ian Duncan with nine podium finishes.^[14]

Year	Rally Name / Dates	Winning Driver	Co-driver	Winning Car	Status
1953	1st Coronation Safari Rally	Alan Dix	Johnny Larsen	Volkswagen Beetle
1954	2nd Coronation Safari Rally	D P Marwaha	Vic Preston Sr	Volkswagen Beetle
1955	3rd Coronation Safari Rally	Vic Preston Sr	D P Marwaha	Ford Zephyr
1956	4th Coronation Safari Rally	Eric Cecil	Tony Vickers	DKW
1957	5th Coronation Safari Rally	Gus Hofmann	Arthur Burton	Volkswagen Beetle
1958	6th Coronation Safari Rally	T. Brooke Arne Kopperud Morris Temple-Boreham	Peter Hughes Kora Kopperud Mike Armstrong	Ford Anglia 100E (Impala class) Ford Zephyr II (Lion class) Auto Union 1000 (Leopard class)
1959	7th Coronation Safari Rally	Bill Fritschy	Jack Ellis	Mercedes-Benz 219
1960	8th East African Safari Rally	Bill Fritschy	Jack Ellis	Mercedes-Benz 219
1961	9th East African Safari Rally	John Manussis	Bill Coleridge David Bekett	Mercedes-Benz 220SE
1962	10th East African Safari Rally	Tommy Fjastad	Bernhard Schmider	Volkswagen 1200
1963	11th East African Safari Rally	Nick Nowicki	Paddy Cliff	Peugeot 404
1964	12th East African Safari Rally	Peter Hughes	Bill Young	Ford Cortina GT
1965	13th East African Safari Rally	Joginder Singh	Jaswant Singh	Volvo PV 544
1966	14th East African Safari Rally	Bert Shankland	Chris Rothwell	Peugeot 404
1967	15th East African Safari Rally	Bert Shankland	Chris Rothwell	Peugeot 404
1968	16th East African Safari Rally	Nick Nowicki	Paddy Cliff	Peugeot 404^[15]
1969	17th East African Safari Rally	Robin Hillyar	Jock Aird	Ford Taunus 20M RS
1970	18th East African Safari Rally	Edgar Herrmann	Hans Schüller	Datsun 1600 SSS
1971	19th East African Safari Rally	Edgar Herrmann	Hans Schüller	Datsun 240Z
1972	20th East African Safari Rally (30 Mar – 3 Apr)	Hannu Mikkola	Gunnar Palm	Ford Escort RS1600	IMC
1973	21st East African Safari Rally (19 – 23 Apr)	Shekhar Mehta	Lofty Drews	Datsun 240Z	WRC
1974	22nd East African Safari Rally (11 – 15 Apr)	Joginder Singh	David Doig	Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR	WRC
1975	23rd Safari Rally (27 – 31 Mar)	Ove Andersson	Arne Hertz	Peugeot 504	WRC
1976	24th Safari Rally (15 – 19 Apr)	Joginder Singh	David Doig	Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR	WRC
1977	25th Safari Rally (7 – 11 Apr)	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Ford Escort RS1800	WRC
1978	26th Safari Rally (23 – 27 Mar)	Jean-Pierre Nicolas	Jean-Claude Lefèbvre	Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé	WRC
1979	27th Safari Rally (12 – 16 Apr)	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty	Datsun 160J	WRC
1980	28th Marlboro Safari Rally (3 – 7 Apr)	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty	Datsun 160J	WRC
1981	29th Marlboro Safari Rally (16 – 20 Apr)	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty	Nissan Violet GT	WRC
1982	30th Marlboro Safari Rally (8 – 12 Apr)	Shekhar Mehta	Mike Doughty	Nissan Violet GT	WRC
1983	31st Marlboro Safari Rally (30 Mar – 4 Apr)	Ari Vatanen	Terry Harryman	Opel Ascona 400	WRC
1984	32nd Marlboro Safari Rally (19 – 23 Apr)	Björn Waldegård	Hans Thorszelius	Toyota Celica TCT	WRC
1985	33rd Marlboro Safari Rally (4 – 8 Apr)	Juha Kankkunen	Fred Gallagher	Toyota Celica TCT	WRC
1986	34th Marlboro Safari Rally (29 Mar – 2 Apr)	Björn Waldegård	Fred Gallagher	Toyota Celica TCT	WRC
1987	35th Marlboro Safari Rally (16 – 20 Apr)	Hannu Mikkola	Arne Hertz	Audi 200 Quattro	WRC
1988	36th Marlboro Safari Rally (31 Mar – 4 Apr)	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	WRC
1989	37th Marlboro Safari Rally (23–27 Mar)	Miki Biasion	Tiziano Siviero	Lancia Delta HF Integrale	WRC
1990	38th Marlboro Safari Rally (11–16 Apr)	Björn Waldegård	Fred Gallagher	Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165	WRC
1991	39th Martini Safari Rally 27 (Mar – 1 Apr)	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v	WRC
1992	40th Martini Safari Rally 27 (Mar – 1 Apr)	Carlos Sainz	Luis Moya	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD	WRC
1993	41st Trustbank Safari Rally (8–12 Apr)	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD	WRC
1994	42nd Trustbank Safari Rally (31 Mar – 3 Apr)	Ian Duncan	David Williamson	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD	WRC
1995	43rd Safari Rally Kenya (14–17 Apr)	Yoshio Fujimoto	Arne Hertz	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD	2LWC
1996	44th Safari Rally Kenya (5–7 Apr)	Tommi Mäkinen	Seppo Harjanne	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III	WRC
1997	45th Safari Rally Kenya (1–3 Mar)	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC97	WRC
1998	46th Safari Rally Kenya (28 Feb – 2 Mar)	Richard Burns	Robert Reid	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evolution IV (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV)	WRC
1999	47th 555 Safari Rally (26–28 Feb)	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC	WRC
2000	48th Sameer Safari Rally (25–27 Feb)	Richard Burns	Robert Reid	Subaru Impreza WRC00	WRC
2001	49th Safari Rally (20–22 Jul)	Tommi Mäkinen	Risto Mannisenmäki	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6.5	WRC
2002	50th Inmarsat Safari Rally (12–14 Jul)	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus RS WRC 02	WRC
2003	51st KCB Safari Equator Rally Kenya (9–11 Oct)	Glen Edmunds	Titch Phillips	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI	ARC
2004	52nd KCB Safari Rally Kenya (12–14 Mar)	Carl Tundo	Tim Jessop	Subaru Impreza	ARC
2005	53rd KCB Safari Rally (15th – 17th Jul)	Glen Edmunds	Des Page-Morris	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII	ARC
2006	54th KCB Safari Rally (24 – 26 Mar)	Azar Anwar	George Mwangi	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI	ARC
2007	55th KCB Safari Rally (9–11 Mar)	Conrad Rautenbach	Peter Marsh	Subaru Impreza N10	IRC & ARC
2008	56th KCB Safari Rally (27–29 Jun)	Lee Rose	Piers Daykin	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX	ARC
2009	57th KCB Safari Rally (3–5 Apr)	Carl Tundo	Tim Jessop	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX	IRC & ARC
2010	58th KCB Safari Rally (2–4 Apr)	Lee Rose	Piers Daykin	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX	ARC
2011	59th KCB Safari Rally (17–19 Jun)	Carl Tundo	Tim Jessop	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX	ARC
2012	60th KCB Safari Rally (8–10 Jun)	Carl Tundo	Tim Jessop	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX	ARC
2013	61st KCB Safari Rally (5–7 Jul)	Baldev Chager	Ravi Soni	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X	ARC
2014	62nd KCB Safari Rally (12–14 Sep)	Baldev Chager	Ravi Soni	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X	ARC
2015	63rd KCB Safari Rally (4–5 Apr)	Singh Chatthe Jaspreet	Panesar Gurdeep	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X R4	KRC
2016	64th KCB Safari Rally (10–11 Jun)	Singh Chatthe Jaspreet	Panesar Gurdeep	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X R4	KRC
2017	65th Safari Rally (17–18 Mar)	Tapio Laukkanen	Gavin Laurence	Subaru Impreza WRX STi 4 D R4	ARC & KRC
2018	66th Safari Rally (16–18 Mar)	Carl Tundo	Tim Jessop	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X R4	ARC & KRC
2019	67th Safari Rally (5–7 Jul)	Baldev Chager	Ravi Soni	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X R4	ARC & KRC
2020	68th Safari Rally (16–19 Jul)	Cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns
2021	68th Safari Rally (24–27 Jun)	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	Toyota Yaris WRC	WRC
2022	69th Safari Rally (23–26 Jun)	Kalle Rovanperä	Jonne Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	WRC
2023	70th Safari Rally (22–25 Jun)	Sebastien Ogier	Vincent Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	WRC
2024	71st Safari Rally (28–31 Mar)	Kalle Rovanperä	Jonne Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	WRC

Notes: IMC = International Championship for Manufacturers, WRC = World Rally Championship, 2LWC = 2-Litre World Cup, ARC = African Rally Championship, IRC = Intercontinental Rally Challenge, KRC = Kenya National Rally Championship

East African Safari Rally (classic)

The East African Safari Rally is a Classic rally event first held in 2003 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first running of the event. The event has since been held biennially.^[10]^[16] The nine day event takes place over 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi), and is open to vehicles built before 1985.^[17] The 2017 edition of the rally had joint winners, as both Richard Jackson and Carl Tundo had the same time.^[18]

Year	Dates	Winning Driver	Winning Co-driver	Winning Car
2003	Dec 10 – Dec 19	Rob Collinge Anton Levitan	Anton Levitan	Datsun 240Z
2005	Dec 1 – Dec 10	Rob Collinge	Anton Levitan	Datsun 260Z
2007	Nov 25 – Dec 3	Björn Waldegård	Mathias Waldegård	Ford Escort Mk1
2009	Nov 22 – Dec 1	Ian Duncan	Amaar Slatch	Ford Mustang
2011	Nov 20 – Nov 28	Björn Waldegård^[19]	Mathias Waldegård	Porsche 911
2013	Nov 21 – Nov 29	Ian Duncan	Amaar Slatch	Ford Capri
2015	Nov 19 – Nov 27	Stig Blomqvist	Stéphane Prévot	Porsche 911
2017	Nov 23 – Dec 1	Richard Jackson^[20] Ryan Champion jointly with^[18] Carl Tundo Tim Jessop		Porsche 911 Triumph TR7
2019	Nov 27 – Dec 6	Kris Rosenberger^[21]	Niki Bleicher	Porsche 911
2022	Feb 10 – 18	Baldev Chager^[22]	Drew Sturrock	Porsche 911

References

^ The name Tanzania did not exist in 1953
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Davenport, John; Deimel, Helmut (2003). Safari Rally 50 years of the toughest rally in the world. Reinhard Klein, Wilfried Müller, McKlein Photography Köln. Köln: Harms Verlag. ISBN 978-3-927458-08-6. OCLC 76627693.
^ ^a ^b Evans, David (17 June 2022). "Safari Rally Kenya ready to test the WRC's greatest like no other". Red Bull. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ ^a ^b "juwra.com/About timing". Jonkka's World Rally Archive. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
^ "Statistics - Event average speed". www.juwra.com. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rhodes, Cynan (25 February 1999). "Safari Rally Kenya: Introduction". au.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ ^a ^b "What would a modern Safari Rally car look like?". DirtFish. 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ "How tape cassettes sent Sainz to a dominant Safari win". DirtFish. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2022-08-15. Grist had been in Kenya for weeks conducting much of TTE's testing and recce preparation for the Safari. Ericsson had headed to Mombasa for a holiday before the rally, leaving Grist in Toyota's team hotel in Nairobi. "Mikael and I had done the recce," said Grist. "In fact, we'd been around the entire 5000-kilometre route four times.
^ "How Mäkinen ignored common sense to conquer the Safari". DirtFish. 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kihaki, Mike (February 2022). "East Africa Safari Classic, a rich history of rallying". The Standard. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ ^a ^b Howard, Tom (21 June 2022). "WRC Safari Rally: Everything you need to know". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ ^a ^b Njenga, Peter (25 June 2022). "Safari Rally rich part of Uhuru Kenyatta legacy and Kenya's sporting history". The East African. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
^ Sport (2021-12-28). "Kenya: Safari's Unique Experience Was a Sight to Behold for World Rally Teams". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ Shacki. "Safari Rally Hall of Fame". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
^ "Safari 68". Autocar. Vol. 129 (nbr 3777). 4 July 1968. pp. 6–9.
^ "The "adventure" that marks a driver's return to rallying". DirtFish. 2021-07-03. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ Duggan, Briana; Page, Tom (8 April 2022). "'It's just about you, the road and your maker': Inside the East African Safari Classic". CNN. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ ^a ^b "Tundo and Jackson share Safari Classic victory". East African Safari Classic Rally. 2017-12-01. Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
^ International sportworld communication. "Safari glory for first world champion Waldegard". 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
^ "Final Classification Safari Classic 2017". East African Safari Classic Rally. 2017-12-01. Archived from the original on 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
^ Shacki. "Stage times East African Safari Classic Rally 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^ Shacki. "Baldev Chager - Drew Sturrock - East African Safari Classic Rally 2022". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2022-08-16.