Sun April 12, 2009

 Kenyan organisers tribute to Yusuf The Safari Rally organisers and the Kenyan Motor Sport Federation pay tribut to Farakh Yusuf, who passed away very unexpectedly only days after finishing 5th on the 2009 Safari Rally. Reigning Kenyan rally champion Farakh is the navigator to Baldev Chager, Farakh is on the right ...

Thu April 9, 2009

 Post Safari shock about Yusuf Safari Rally competitors, organisers and fans are in disbelieve on the news of Farakh Yusuf's death shortly after the event. ...

Sun April 5, 2009

 The big Safari finale As predicted the top4 move closer together. As strange as this may sound, this is the ultra challenging Safari adventure, gaps are usually counted in minutes, we traditionally see no point in stopping times to split seconds here. Yet the last day battle in the Safari Rally looks ...

NEWS JUST IN

 EAK end - Last stage dramas aplenty! @ 02:58 PM - Tundo wins safari! Last stage drama for Jamie Whyte. Drama is too much, minor error, losing 2 minutes on Safari is nothing, but on this Safari he drops from 2nd to 4th on the last stage and hands a podium lock out to Mitsubishi! Rose misses 2nd by 11secs! But drama it is for Nav Hans, dropping way out of the top10! Final positions (SS13)(subject to last road section and final scrutineering): 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 2h47m27s; 2nd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m17s; 3rd= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +1m26s; 4th= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +2m57s; 5th= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +6m58s; 6th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +8m43s; 7th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +8m57s; 8th= Essa/Milner, Subaru, +12m53s; 9th= Bharij/Sehmi, Subaru, +14m35s; 10th= Smith/Smith, Subaru, +18m07s;

 EAK SS12 - more Lee Rose @ 02:49 PM - Another convincing stage win by Lee Rose. Gaps look big enough for top4 with only one stage remaining, but it is a big stage! Positions after SS12: 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 2h32m06s; 2nd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m25s; 3rd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m37s; 4th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +2m16s; 5th= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +7m21s; 6th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +8m02s; 7th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +8m51s; 8th= Essa/Milner, Subaru, +12m25s; 9th= Bharij/Sehmi, Subaru, +13m41s; 10th= Hans/Gitau, Mitsubishi, +14m29s;

 EAK SS11 - Rose closing in further @ 02:34 PM - Fantsatic time by Lee Rose and also young Alex Horsey. Rose took 40sec out of leader Tundo and is breathing down on 3rd place. Chager charges past Singh into 5th. Bharij takes 3m20 time penalty out of service. Positions after SS11: 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 2h26m37s; 2nd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m15s; 3rd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m41s; 4th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +2m25s; 5th= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +7m25s; 6th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +7m46s; 7th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +8m45s; 8th= Essa/Milner, Subaru, +12m08s; 9th= Bharij/Sehmi, Subaru, +13m34s; 10th= Hans/Gitau, Mitsubishi, +14m14s;

 EAK SS10 - Lee Rose again! @ 09:08 AM - Rose takes 25sec off the leader. But this was the longest stage of the day. At this breath taking speed Rose can probably come to 2nd, but the only one who can beat Tundo now is probably Tundo himself. Katto did beat himself fighting for 8th (Dropping just outside the top10). Positions after SS10: 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 2h16m32s; 2nd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m24s; 3rd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m51s; 4th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +3m01s; 5th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +7m39s; 6th= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +7m50s; 7th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +8m30s; 8th= Bharij/Sehmi, Subaru, +10m10s; 9th= Essa/Milner, Subaru, +12m01s; 10th= Hans/Gitau, Mitsubishi, +14m08s;

 EAK SS9 - Rose 19s faster than Tundo @ 08:53 AM - Rose takes 19s off Tundo in this short(!) stage alone, but gap is still over 3min. Great battle for 8th, Katto again ahead of Bharij by 2s! Positions after SS9: 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 2h01m41s; 2nd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m28s; 3rd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m32s; 4th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +3m26s; 5th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +6m14s; 6th= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +7m56s; 7th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +8m53s; 8th= Katto/Matovu, Subaru, +9m50s; 9th= Bharij/Sehmi, Subaru, +9m52s; 10th= Essa/Milner, Subaru, +10m16s;

 EAK SS8 - Rose starts day with stage win @ 08:35 AM - Rose wins stage and leader Tundo is 4th fastest, top4 move ever closer together. Azar Anwar dropped from 6th to 20th! Bharjo passes Katto. Positions after SS8: 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 1h56m01s; 2nd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m25s; 3rd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m42s; 4th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +3m45s; 5th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +6m05s; 6th= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +8m09s; 7th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +8m56s; 8th= Bharji/Sehmi, Subaru, +9m52s; 9th= Katto/Matovu, Subaru, +9m56s; 10th= Essa/Milner, Subaru, +10m15s;

Sat April 4, 2009

 Tundo being chased on Safari Carl Tundo is the surprise leader of the Safari Rally after leg1. Maybe not so much a surprise as concerns Carl Tundo’s abilities. Carl already finished 2nd overall on the 2007 IRC Safari, beating Andrea Navarra in the works Abarth Grande Punto on that occasion! Surprise maybe fo...

 Safari mid day updates Lee Rose stamped his authority on the first loop of proper Safari stages. It is a loop of 3 stages, 2 of which are close to 50km long each! The overnight leader was Kenyan champions Baldev Chager in his Subaru. However once leaving Nairobi, things were no longer on Chager’s side....

NEWS JUST IN

 EAK leg1 - Tundo leads hard battle @ 02:19 PM - On the last stage 3rd & 4th placed Cavenagh & Rose still close in with big steps, taking near half a minute out of the leader, but the overnight lead stays with Carl Tundo! Positions after leg1 (SS7): 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 1h46m20s; 2nd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m12s; 3rd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m43s; 4th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +3m51s; 5th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +5m43s; 6th= Anwar/Ngigi, Mitsubishi, +7m26s; 7th= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +8m11s; 8th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +8m41s; 9th= Katto/Matovu, Subaru, +9m19s; 10th= Bharij/Sehmi, Subaru, +9m30s;

 EAK SS6 - Cavenagh & Rose star @ 02:04 PM - Cavenagh wins the last long stage of the day with Rose a close 2nd, then a gap. Since the pair are 3rd & 4th overall, the top4 move closer. Uganda's Katto moves his new shape Subaru into top10, as does first leader Chager. Positions after SS6: 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 1h43m05s; 2nd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m11s; 3rd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m45s; 4th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +3m35s; 5th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +5m31s; 6th= Anwar/Ngigi, Mitsubishi, +7m09s; 7th= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +8m16s; 8th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +8m31s; 9th= Katto/Matovu, Subaru, +9m15s; 10th= Essa/Milner, Subaru, +9m18s;

 EAK SS4 - 3 in a row for Rose @ 10:20 AM - Actually on this stage it was a tie between Lee Rose and current African championship leader Jamie Whyte. This was a short lake side stage at Lake Elementaita Positions after SS4: 1st= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, 52m25s; 2nd= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, +54s; 3rd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m47s; 4th= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +2m12s; 5th= Katto/Matovu, Subaru, +2m40s; 6th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +3m54s; 7th= Anwar/Ngigi, Mitsubishi, +3m58s; 8th= P.Horsey/Sassoon, Mitsubishi, +5m22s; 9th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +5m49s; 10th= Pandya/Mwangi, Subaru, +6m03s;

 EAK SS3 - Chager & VW in trouble @ 09:20 AM - Another long stage set on Lord Delamere Ranges. First rally leader Baldev Chager has lost 9min with mechanical problems. The Volkswagen, the only S2000 car in the field, is still missing at the stage finish. Positions after SS3: 1st= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, 49m16s; 2nd= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, +52s; 3rd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m47s; 4th= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +2m09s; 5th= Katto/Matovu, Subaru, +2m35s; 6th= Anwar/Ngigi, Mitsubishi, +3m44s; 7th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +3m46s; 8th= P.Horsey/Sassoon, Mitsubishi, +5m12s; 9th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +5m43s; 10th= Esser/Milner, Subaru, +5m51s;

 EAK SS2 - Lee Rose starts proper @ 08:52 AM - Lee Rose took the first 50km stage by half a minute! It is a very scenic stage driving in fact between vulcanoes. Positions after SS2: 1st= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, 30m08s; 2nd= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, +27s; 3rd= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, +38s; 4th= Anwar/Ngigi, Mitsubishi, +1m18s; 5th= Verlaque/Verlaque, Volkswagen, +1m19s; 6th= Katto/Matovu, Subaru, +1m26s; 7th= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +1m30s; 8th= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +1m45s; 9th= Bukera/Ketia, Subaru, +2m19s; 10th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +2m37s;

 EAK SS5 - Lee Rose loses lead! @ 00:41 AM - Though thankfully for him it could have been worse. What appears to have been a puncture or a spin cost him 5 minutes only on this 50km stage, enough to drop to 3rd, though. Peter Horsey and Katto also lose a similar amount of time. Positions after SS5: 1st= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, 1h23m32s; 2nd= Whyte/Archenoul, Subaru, +52s; 3rd= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +2m09s; 4th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +4m15s; 5th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +4m18s; 6th= Anwar/Ngigi, Mitsubishi, +4m34s; 7th= Bharij/Semhi, Subaru, +7m23s; 8th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +7m28s; 9th= Essa/Milner, Subaru, +7m31s; 10th= Davite/Vindevogel, Subaru, +7m55s;

Fri April 3, 2009

 Safari - entertaining start With Kenya behing ahead in time zones on Europe, the Nairobi show stage has finished just now. With this being a city centre spectator entertainment stage and Safari marathon timing to the second (rather than splits of), we not only have a tight field but many dupliate positions....

NEWS JUST IN

 EAK SS1 - Leg1A results @ 02:35 PM - With Kenya behing ahead in time zones on Europe, the Nairobi show stage has finished just now. With this being a city centre spectator entertainment stage and Safari marathon timing to the second (rather than splits of), we not only have a tight field but many dupliate positions. British descent Alistair Cavenagh and reigning Kenyan Champion Baldev Chager for a Mitsu-Subaru tie for the lead. There was a last minute navigator change for last year's winner Lee Rose.

 EAK SS1 - Leg1A results @ 02:21 PM - Positions after SS1: =1st= Chager/Yusuf, Subaru, 1m08; =1st= Cavenagh/Haji, Mitsubishi, +0s; =3rd= Tundo/Jessop, Mitsubishi, +1s; =3rd= Kurji/Kadri, Subaru, +1s; =3rd= Katto/Matovu, Subaru, +1s; =3rd= Hans/Gitau, Mitsubishi, +1s; =3rd= Davite/Vindevogel, Subaru, +1s; =8th= Mangat/Israel, Subaru, +2s; =8th= Costa/Paganin, Subaru, +2s; =10th= Singh/Sihoka, Subaru, +3s; =10th= Rose/Patel, Mitsubishi, +3s; =10th= Anwar/Sheikh, Mitsubishi, +3s; =10th= Verlaque/Verlaque, Volskwagen, +3s; =10th= Shah/Sidi, Mitsubishi, +3s; =10th= Khan/Kibue, Subaru, +3s; =10th= Bharji/Sehmi, Subaru, +3s;

Wed April 1, 2009

 In for a REAL Safari! News from East Africa is that the rains have just arrived in Nairobi. This does not guarantee us full stop that it will be a Safari sinking in mud, but the likelyhood is very high we are in for a real Safari. ...

Tue March 31, 2009

 Safari: Further details + TV times The legendary Safari Rally is confirmed as the third round of the IRC this year, providing an epic challenge to push drivers and cars to the maximum through the demanding gravel stages. IRC manufacturer points will be allocated on this round, but only drivers holding African comp...

NEWS JUST IN

 We are in for a real Safari! @ 06:32 PM - We are in for a real Safari, as we received info straight from Nairobi that the rains have just come. This means it is very likely going to be muddy throughout the rally. Expect many unbelievable photos!

Sat March 28, 2009

 Safari preview, still a season highlight Although the Safari Rally 2009 entry list shows a total lack of international IRC crews in S2000 cars, it is still an entry list packed with drivers with a legendary background, that should provide for very exciting competition. The layout of the rally is similar to its last inte...

Fri March 20, 2009

 Safari goes ahead as IRC round The iconic KCB Safari Rally will form the third round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, even though several leading teams haven't included the event on their schedules for the season. ...