East African Safari 2007!!! - U heard it here 1st!!

[hatari]

Article in Kenya's Local Press!!


World champs on Classic Rally's provisional list

Story by NATION Correspondent
Publication Date: 07/20/2006
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Two world champions – Bjorn Waldegaard and Stig Blomqvist – are on the provisional entry list for the 2007 East African Safari Classic Rally scheduled for November 25 to December 3. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Waldegaard and Blomqvist are among the 11 competitors who will be driving Ford Escorts in next year’s Classic Safari which is rated as the toughest in the world. Blomqvist finished second overall in the 2005 Classic Safari in a Ford Escort navigated by Ana Goni from Venezuela. Bjorn Waldegaard, who drove a Ford Escort to victory in the Safari in 1977, will be nominating his co-driver later this year. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Their Ford Escorts will be prepared and serviced by Historic Motorsport Limited of England. Pipi Renu of Mars Auto Garage, the East African representative of Historic Motorsport Limited, will be assisting with pre-event testing and service during the 2007 East African Safari Classic Rally.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]David Sutton, the Historic Motorsport Limited Team Director, commented: "It is a very great honour indeed to have two of the greatest drivers ever in our cars. Both of them have considerable Safari experience. Despite the Rally being 16 months away, it is wonderful to know that we will be involved at such high level. We are also talking to other drivers from Italy and Germany so we might well be a four car team." [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Throughout the 106 year history of the Ford Motor Company, the reliability of its cars has been demonstrated in motor racing. In 1963 Peter Hughes grabbed the attention of Safari Rally fans by finishing runner-up in a 1200cc Ford Anglia. This was a prelude for even greater successes. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]The following year, Hughes won the world’s toughest rally in a Ford Cortina and three of these cars finished in the top 10.[/SIZE][/FONT]


I know .... only the Fords mentioned but the Datsuns like keeping the low profile .... we make a point when it counts .... outright wins!!!

Datsfun - Get your shorts ready!!! It is going to be hotter than the last one.

 

[suzy]

16 months to start saving annual leave and money!

 

[Legendary5]

This is great news, history repeats it self. Ford sends in an Armada of Escorts to counter the victory run of the Datsun 240Z!!.... Just like to old days, marvellous….

 

[hatari]

This is great news, history repeats it self. Ford sends in an Armada of Escorts to counter the victory run of the Datsun 240Z!!.... Just like to old days, marvellous….

Looks like a year for Ford then? I would like to see Robs Datsun return in the hands of a Local Rally Ace. But you never know he may just come back to wind up in the international entrants!

Suzy - Never too early to plan ahead! Two weeks in East Africa in hot weather? Very tempting thought!!!

 

[Nigel Brook]

Overheard a conversation that the rights to the event have been sold to Mike Kirkland's brother/brother in law. Any significance?

 

[hatari]

Overheard a conversation that the rights to the event have been sold to Mike Kirkland's brother/brother in law. Any significance?

Brother in Law. U heard right .. Seems like a questionable thing to do considering the success of the event.

As long as the organisers stay the same - the quality of the event will be world class. The WRC status was lost after the Safari was passed to management and organisers with little or no experience. Not to mention some of the works teams complaining about how hard the event was on the cars!

The competitors of the classic event have alot of good things to say for it. As long as it stays that way, then the Safari Fanatics have nothing to fear. As soon as the standards drop people will pull out (no one wants to spend tens of thousands of pounds to attend a poor show).

The East African Safari Rally is a Limited company and I guess if Mike sells of his interest then it is his choice. I just hope that the one who takes over keeps the standard and betters it. Only time will tell.

 

[suzy]

Meet a couple who were helping to organise JAE this weekend and their Father came 10th last year (BMW I think they said) they were very impressed with the Datsuns, as they should be!

 

[hatari]

First Z for the 2007 Event!

Just came across the third entry for the next event .....

Graham Alexzander in a Datsun 260Z from Australia. (Came 5th in the last event! ) - another podium finish for 2007?!

 

[hatari]

I know I am late ....apologies for those waiting .....

The final part of the 2005 EA Safari rally will appear in the Autumn Edition of the Magazine, if Steve allows it!

 

[SeanDezart]

This is great news, history repeats it self. Ford sends in an Armada of Escorts to counter the victory run of the Datsun 240Z!!.... Just like to old days, marvellous….

The last time they sent an armada of Escorts (1972) - they won !
And it aint Steve you must see for the mag entry - it's Rob, I think !

 

[hatari]

Another Z!

Another Z entered by Local Kenyan - Stefano Rocca - 260Z .....

more to come ..............

 

[Legendary5]

I heard Larry Horn is also coming again with a Datsun....

 

[datsfun]

I heard Larry Horn is also coming again with a Datsun....

Hmm, I wonder which Datsun it will be? A Zed?

Lets wish he has better luck this time round.

 

[hatari]

Another Z entered by Local Kenyan - Stefano Rocca - 260Z .....

more to come ..............

Some more news from Kenya

This is on the EASR 2007 site .....

"Kenyan resident Italian Stefano Rocca has purchased the 2005 winning Datsun 240Z from double winner Rob Collinge and has already entered."

Someone to watch out for, great car but no details known about the driver. I will see if I can get anything on him.

Not a huge number of entries to date this year? But there is still alot of time and there will be more entrants coming in.

 

[datsfun]

Some more news from Kenya

This is on the EASR 2007 site .....

"Kenyan resident Italian Stefano Rocca has purchased the 2005 winning Datsun 240Z from double winner Rob Collinge and has already entered."

Someone to watch out for, great car but no details known about the driver. I will see if I can get anything on him.

Not a huge number of entries to date this year? But there is still alot of time and there will be more entrants coming in.

That is good news, lets hope he can drive . Like you said, never heard of him so hard to judge . It would have been better had it gone to a known driver as that car in the right hands would be very competitive.

I need to book my 2007 annual leave to co-incide with this event

 

[hatari]

That is good news, lets hope he can drive . Like you said, never heard of him so hard to judge . It would have been better had it gone to a known driver as that car in the right hands would be very competitive.

Okay - He has done a few local events. But nothing to jump up about. No podium finishes in Kenya. Did the 47th Safari Rally in a Subaru Impreza with one of the best Local Navigators "Peter Stone" - So has had an attempt but not any great results.

With drivers like Stig / Waldegard returning in Fords - I am seeing the event slip away to the Fords!!

 

[hatari]

Another Z!!!

Entry No. 12 - Steven Perez - British - Datsun 260Z !!!!! One guess where this car may be comming from?!!! And we all the Steven Perez!!!

Mike Kirklands Car is up for Sale as well, the one Juha Kankkunen drove on the 2005 event ....anyone got any spare cash lying about?! .... £90,000! Just incase you thought I was going crazy ...Attached is the advertisment from the East African Safari Website!!!

 

[Hugh Myers]

Kirkland 240Z

I guess that price is about right for such a car! It still would not be legal for Historic rallying in the UK (after you have done the Safari, of course)!

Still, if you have £90k to spend, you are probably not that bothered!

Hugh

 

[hatari]

Larry Horn Enters His 260Z

Another Z - Larry Horn Puts his entry for the 2007 event. Hope he has better luck this time.

I make that 4 260Z's, the most popular model of car so far!!

I think this year we will be looking at aleast 8 Zeds. Still waiting for these to come through

Imitiaz in his 240, is a regular on the Event.
Lofty Drews has got 260 which did not get to the event in time last year! so he ran the Datsun 180B
Whoever buys Mike Kirklands 240Z
and there is another 260Z for sale on the EA Safari Rally Website.
And yours truely! ...3rd time lucky!!

 

[hatari]

A Classic Struggle?

As entries continued to arrive over the Christmas holiday, it is evident that the 2007 East African Safari Classic may see an important piece of rally history replayed.

It was thirty-five years ago that Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm finally broke the stranglehold of the local drivers and became the first crew from outside East Africa to win the Safari. Ever since the event’s inception in 1953, the winners had always been drivers living in one of the three countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – that made up East Africa. Many times during the 1960s, European drivers had led the rally but none had come home in a position to claim the winner’s laurels. But in 1972, the dam finally burst. Mikkola and Palm stormed home in first place with their Ford Escort RS 1600 ahead of Sobieslaw Zasada and Marian Bien in a Porsche 911S. The best local crew were Vic Preston Junior and Bev Smith who were third in another Ford Escort. In the ensuing thirty years, the score was eight victories to the locals and twenty-three to the visitors, a performance that brought the visitors to within four outright victories of the locals.

When the World Championship Safari stopped with its last event in 2002, the Safari Classic was born and the first event run under that name was held in 2003. The winners on that occasion were Rob Collinge and Anton Levitan driving a Datsun 240Z. This was a local crew – from Kenya – driving a locally prepared car and going up against some serious overseas opposition with a list of experienced names in Porsches and Escorts headed by none other than Michele Mouton, the only lady to have won WRC events – four of them in fact.

With a two year gap between Safari Classics, the event was next run in 2005. Collinge was back this time with a Datsun 260Z initially prepared in Australia but given the final touches by Collinge’s own specialist suspension firm, Rob’s Magic. Lined up against the local entries was an even more formidable list of opponents that included no fewer than three ex-World Rally Champions – Björn Waldegård, Stig Blomqvist and Juha Kankkunen. Waldegård had won the old Safari four times and Kankkunen three times. Another previous Safari winner, Ian Duncan was there to also uphold local honour but it was Collinge who came home for his second Safari Classic victory ahead of Stig Blomqvist and Ana Goni in an Escort with French entrant, Frederic Dor, paired with Paul Howarth in a Porsche 911, in third place.

Thus the situation is that as far as the Safari Classic is concerned, the score is two victories to the locals and zero to the visitors. Will the local domination of the Safari Classic be changed on the thirty-fifth anniversary of Mikkola and Palm’s victory in 1972?

Can we see a little bit of history being replayed ? And will the visitors catch up one place in the overall number of wins ?

The signs are good for the visitors. Firstly, Rob Collinge has – so he proclaims – retired from rallying and has a new hobby, flying his gyrocopter. Secondly, amongst the early entries are two Escort RSs entered by Historic Motorsport Ltd. to be crewed by Stig Blomqvist and Ana Goni, and Björn and Mathias Waldegård. With experienced overseas entrants such as Frederic Dor and Gerard Marcy in Porsche 911s, Steve Perez in a Datsun 260Z and Iain Freestone in an Escort RS 2000 also in the list, the chances of making the score 2-1 look impressive.

But it is early days yet and already there are two local entries, Larry Horn and Rob Barbour from Tanzania and Stefano Rocca from Kenya, ominously both in Datsun 260Zs.

Perhaps the most intriguing question of all, however, is whether the 2007 event might see, for the first time, a winner from somewhere other than East Africa, Japan or Europe. Already Australia has three entries from Graham Alexander, Ian Swan and Paul Darrouzet in cars ranging from Datsun 260z to Ford Capri Perana. With interest from entrants in other parts of Africa and in America, there could be another first come December 3rd.