Safari Rally - 60th Edition...still going Strong!

History
This year the Rally once known as the 'toughest rally across the world' shall be one year short of marking its Diamond anniversary. This Rally which was inaugurated in 1953 to mark the coronation of then Princess Elizabeth to current Queen Elizabeth - the ruling British monarch, who had chosen Kenya as her holiday destination.

Juha Kankunnen 1993 Safari Rally - image courtesy of www.turbocelica.nl

The Rally initially was called the EA Coronation Safari, then changing to East African Safari Rally upto 1974 when it settled on the more famous Safari Rally moniker. It was part of the World Rally Championships circuit up until 2003 when the world's governing body in rallying dropped it. Safety practices, huge expenses for rally teams and lack of corporate sponsorships among others were given as the reasons.
However the Rally has managed to keep its own in the last 10 years and has been a major rally as part of the African Rally Championships - ARC. It has also gradually changed into shorter and more open sections than the traditional rally which was marked by longer and sometimes overnight legs.

Safari Rally Changes
The Safari Rally was also forced to shift its traditional timing from the Easter weekend which usually fell between the months of March and April to the month of June.
It was also forced to split into the East Africa Safari Rally Classic which features older cars manufactured in the 1960s,70s to 80s when the Rally was at its best. The rally was last held last November criss-crossing Kenya and Tanzania.
The organisers have also introduced the popular 'Spectator Stages' which are real crowd pullers at the start or end of the major stages. This year's Rally will also be hoped to entice the WRC gurus back to this side of the Sahara as Africa yearns for a substantive Rally in that circuit.

Check out this link for some interesting stats on the Safari Rally pre-2003.

To all you Rallying enthusiasts mark your calendars for the 8th-10th June 2012 for this dazzle of a Rally!

Motor-Rallying in Kenya - Motorsport gets Kenyans revving

Motor-rallying in Kenya has been a sport which has had mixed fortunes in the last couple of years. After the bundling out of the Safari Rally from the World Rally Championship circuit from 2003, the country's rallying enthusiasts ( including ourselves) were in denial. It slowly dawned on the sport that there needs to be a review of sorts, the downward spiral is being arrested.

Roar your Engines...image courtesy of www.motorsportkenya.com

The national sports bodies for the sport MotorSport Kenya has had much of their work cut out and has managed to liaise with major corporates to ensure the sport remains relevant to the Kenyan rally fan. Indeed much kudos to the federation in the last two years which have seen Rallies taking place beyond the traditional towns and regions. Through the Kenya National Rallying Championship, this year already non-traditional rallies have seen the national circuit visit centres such as Nyeri and the forthcoming Nakuru rally. This is largely in part to KCB's sponsorship, this year alone standing at KSh. 36 million.
While these efforts are admirable, what remains to be seen as progress in the sport is the reinstatement of the Safari Rally onto the WRC calendar of events. The Rally has been part of the Africa Rally Championship as well as Intercontinental Rally Challenge , the latter from time to time ( its erstwhile Classic version, has been held bi-annual bringing former rally drivers  and enthusiasts back to 'Africa's Rallying home').
A number of conditions have been set out by the FIA which runs the sport internationally. These include;
1. No Night -rallying/Shorter Rally routes - One of the biggest challenges for rallying in Kenya and indeed Africa is the terrain which makes it almost impossible to rally during the day only. It has been tried by having shorter rallies on graded roads with speedy sections in between. Due to this also, Service Centres need be aplenty to help rallying and crew members to work on their cars efficiently.
2. Graded v/s Rough roads - Again the African terrain comes into play this time being the actual infrastructure which makes rallying a joy to watch. Though major works are being carried out on Kenyan roads, there are still many more which make it difficult for WRC teams to bring their expensive machinery here.
3. Tax Rebates - rallying in any country is big money. WRC is even bigger money. With this comes crew, equipment, fuel among many other support services. When the WRC teams left in 2002, part of their concerns were how expensive the Rally had become. Government and relevant authorities need look into this to see how best to entice WRC rally teams back.
4. Title Sponsor - while KCB has continually sponsored the Rally for the last many years, it would be fair to say that the amounts payable can be raised to other world rally levels. Other Kenyan and regional corporations should also look for ways to propping up the main sponsor to ensure success of the event @AccessKenya  @iWayAfrica are but some of the corporates hanging on - the Tobacco ban in sports and advertising did the sport a great disservice
5. Fans & Security - many a times we have seen trouble spots on roads in Kenya even without rallying. The rally machines are not any easier when put on the road. This is a national problem that rallying enthusiasts have to learn and get adopted into sooner rather than than later.

These are but just a few of the conditions that can be addressed to restore this great Rally. But we should not beat ourselves too hard, other popular Rallies have also been knocked out including the Corsica Rally, Cote d'Ivoire, Turkey and other rallies.

In Other News:
While checking on some information about the FIA Board, Surinder Thatthi is listed as a Tanzanian citizen. Could this be the reason the Safari Rally will always find it hard to make it back to the WRC rounds? Just asking...

KCB Safari Rally 2011

Yes, the Safari Rally is racing round town again! Having been edged out of the World Rally Championship circuit, the Rally has been struggling to regain some worthy status. Kenya Motorsports Federation(KMSF) has been working tirelessly to get the Rally going and this year the route has been scaled down moving to environs not too far from Nairobi - at Athi River and Kajiado.

The fan-park which had previously been hosted at Uhuru Park has been moved to Jamhuri Park along Ngong Road.
KMSF's current Chair has stated that they seek for reinstatement on the WRC by 2013 - a tough call given we're crossing to the 9th year in the cold and the rallying world has moved leaps and bounds to more technical levels and much of the excitement that Safari Rally offered would be heavily diluted.
79 drivers have registered for this year's Rally a commendable number and we hope that the organisers are able to attract this number consistently. The current title sponsors have also been faithfully holding onto the property and hope it reaps some major coup once & if the Rally is restored to the WRC.
Follow the Rally on this handle @motorsportkenya and we shall endeavour to give you updates too. Watch out for the cars along your route people in and around Nairobi and give way. See you in Kajiado or Athi River Saturday and Sunday!

Tribute to Eric Cecil 'Bwana Safari' - 1920 -2010

Salute to the man who together with Neil Vincent are rumoured to have founded the Safari Rally. Initially christened the Coronation Rally as part of paying tribute to Her Majesty-Queen Elizabeth for being crowned in Kenya while on safari with her husband Prince Philip; the rally eventually became known as the 'toughest race between man and machine'. The East Africa Safari Rally covered the 3 countries - Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - till the 1970s when the strained relations between the 3 countries restricted the rally to just Kenya
The Rally became one of the highlights of the World Rally Championship until 2002 when the organisers decided to throw it out of the circuit on the excuse of safety and logistical issues. 'Sir' Eric Cecil did come back again and thought of the idea of covering the original 3 countries in cars built for the former glory days. This Rally was started to mark the 50th anniversary of the original rally and continues to this day and attracts drivers from across the globe albeit on a smaller scale, after every 2 years.

East African Classic Safari Rally - Start Point 2009 Sarova Whitesands

We would urge the motoring world led by http://www.motorsportkenya.com/ to consider application to the World Rally Championship and put this rally where it belongs we remain Africa's pride in the rallying world, thanks to this man's heritage( apparently no Rally from Africa features in the WRC circuit presently). We should consider this hopefully to tie it in with the upcoming Diamond Jubilee of the Queen's Coronation in 2012. 

Rallying News:
Sebastien Loeb won his 7th WRC Driver's Championship over the weekend continuing with his record-breaking spree in the rallying world. He was the first to win 6 titles back-to-back and has now won 60 rallies on the ramp. I guess the one race that he has never won and should really test his mettle is ....guessed right! WRC right this wrong please!

MotorSport - San Valencia Rally School breaks new ground

Awhile back when the rallying world seemed to have come down crumbling after the withdrawal of the Safari Rally by the WRC gurus, rallying enthusiasts all but gave up on this fledging sport. Not one to be faint-hearted both on the wheel and off it, it requires lots of nerves, guts and also the good-old mullah ($$$)to go with it.

That's why there was cause for celebration when retired (& soon to come out of retirement...)one Phineas Kimathi of San Valencia Group - which operates eatery and catering services around Nairobi - came up with other rallying veterans ( Abdul Sidi, Azar Anwar, Asad Khan and George Mwangi) to form the San Valencia Rally School.
The first of its kind in the country, it is hoped to develop local talent into rally drivers and impart a bit of the technical aspects of the sport to the younger and upcoming rally drivers.

Hoping to incorporate other worthy components such as WRC's Junior World Rally Championship, and other aspects such as may involve rallying, it is a fresh way of developing our drivers and inspiring future ones at that. We hope such initiatives will give impetus to the local organisers to up their game on rallying to get the Safari Rally back to the WRC circuit, that way your efforts will not be in vain. You can also learn more from such rallying schools as this one at Silvestone.

Safari Rally : Low Key Start

Logo courtesy of Motorsport Kenya.

For an event which attracted thousands of fans, the sport is slowly drifting into international rallying obscurity. The event was flagged off and the rest of the city was almost unmoved.
What's even worse the cars will cover only about 700 kms ( approx 437 miles) and mainly feature runs in 'people's farms as a local driver put it in the Press today.The rally had also almost sunk due to the low interest by sponsors though the buzz came on thanks to KCB who are the title sponsors. The weather has also played its worst and a dusty rally with patches of rains dotting parts of the route.
The magic of the Safari Rally just seems gone. Even some of us were not so impressed by the spectator stage which has been a highlight for the last 4 years. Organisers had better come up with a better thing ( like 2 cars racing on the track) to make it more exciting.
They can also add a skills section just to showcase what some of the drivers can do (I remember Richard Burns doing some spins on the Argentine finishing ramp and it was worth watching)...
We also need to fully provide for the rally and let by-gones be by-gones, WRC has forgotten about us and the faster we forget them the better. We might as well have a section for our crazy matatu drivers and weekend speed-racing wannabes from well-to-do neighbourhoods. That makes more sense to us !

Safari Rally: No more European Safarians ?

This is a serious cold shoulder if ever there was one. Since reducing the Safari Rally into an African affair ( usually enjoys Africa Rallying Championship-ARC endorsement), this time emerging and regular visiting teams from European rallying teams have given it a wide berth.
Though the Intercontinental Rally Challenge(IRC) has put the rally as one its rounds, no major teams has confirmed participation, 1 week into the rally. The IRC acts a launch pad for aspiring rally drivers for the World Rally Championship the ultimate for rally drivers. It may also be said to be a test for rallies wishing to be included in the WRC circuit which crosses over different countries, across different continents testing man and machine.
For me the ultimate test still remains the Safari Rally and no matter what excuses the officials may use. It's a sad affair of things and some may say TIA !
I'll make time to reminisce of the days of yonder when the likes of Bjorn Waldegaard , Massimo 'Miki' Biasion, Carlos Sainz, Richard Burns, Lars Erick Torph, Shekhar Mehta, John Ngunjiri, Peter Shiyukah and Hannu Mikkola graced our race roads.
I'll make time for the spectator stage at Uhuru Park which has become a favourite for many a rally fan and may venture to the dusty roads of the Rift Valley later in the weekend.
KCB keep the fire alive. We won't lose the fight for the Rally back where it belongs....

East African Classic Safari Rally

Anytime I read about the Safari Rally, I have this tear hanging out my eye. There are 2 reasons
Reason No. 1:
About 17 years ago, when the Safari Rally was part of the World Rally Champion (WRC) circuit, I remember the cars were to use a route which was like 800m from our humble abode. To make more interesting those machines would fly past a stretch of like 1km at high speeds of +200km/h along this driveway and at night to boot. They were on their final leg as they headed back to KICC for the podium and pop of the champagne. Being a Sunday and the next day being a Monday (funny enough Easter Monday…the rally almost always used to coincide with the Easter weekend, lots of rains and mud, what a joy to watch them splash this around!), I was obliged to wake up at some ungodly hour of 3-4 a.m. to watch these ruts get their thing done on the road. I even set up the alarm in my excitement to shatter my sweet dreams and make them come true, alas! It never happened; I woke up the next day at the hour of 8 only to find the last of the cars had gone by at 6.30a.m. Much to the chagrin of the rally enthusiasts!
What made worse for me, that was the year one of my all-time rally drivers and Safari rally legend last won the rally, none other than the ‘Flying Swede’ Bjorn Waldegaard driving a Toyota Celica GT4 breaking the 2-year reign of the Italian Miki Biasion.
Reason No.2:
5 years ago, a friend of mine who later flew out of the country was around town and I was scrounging in their digs. This was at a time I had lost my job and was busy doing what guys call –“in-between-jobs “. This pal of mine lets call him Nerd also had a friend of his called Josh. They had managed to organize for a trip out of town and this was to be near Naivasha- a town about 50 km from Nairobi in the Rift Valley- where the 2002 Safari Rally was taking place. Right there the route was making the cars go through twice, once during the day & the second just before sunset. What a break it would have been from all the stress of the City. To make it even more interesting my pals had secured 2 rides and my oh my, was I jumping up & down my bed. There was a small rider though: Only “Couples” were being allowed on this trip. Bring along a partner and a small fee for the fuel, drinks and snacks to be taken on the trip. A night was also planned for at the said town.
That just blew my sails off and I had to settle for the unenviable task of house-keeping for the weekend. The only chance I had of watching the rally cars live in action was blown away. That year saw some of the most memorable images being broadcast across the globe but the most painful must have been one of Richard Burns getting stuck a few metres from the final check-point at Suswa and trying in vain (and tears) to get his Subaru Impreza WRC from a dust pan. He was thus time-barred and out of contention a stone's throw away from the final checkpoint for that Leg.
Why do I shed tears you ask?
- the former would have had me watch the cars at the most comfortable of places and in one of the most spectacular of ways,
- the latter was to be the last time that the Safari Rally was to feature as a WRC series rally.

Please don’t get reasons to shed your tears, get your boys (and girls who care) to the hotspots and watch the East African Classic Safari Rally! Catch all the splash and shine, classics and former classy drivers too as they relive the original rally frequently referred to as a test between man and machine!

Interesting Facts:
The Rally was originally set as the East African Coronation Rally in the 3 Eastern Africa countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the II. She’ll be around this part of Africa for the CHOGM-Commonwealth Heads Of Governments Meeting being held in Kampala, Uganda. I’m sure they can spare sometime to watch these oldies as they take a break from the talk-show that is the conference held.

It was renamed EA Safari Rally in 1960 before changing to Safari Rally in 1974 after being reduced to the Kenyan circuit ONLY. Up until 2002 the rally was part of the WRC circuit but is now on the lesser known African Rally (ARC) and this year was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).
The Classic Rally version started in 2003 as a way of commemorating the original rally and also showcasing the prowess of man and machine under minimal service and power. This is more like the 1950s & 1960s.
For more details check out

www.eastafricansafarirally.com