Safari Rally

Checkpoint in the 1973 rally.

The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. 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.

The event was part of the World Rally Championship calendar for many years until being excluded due to lack of funding and organisation in 2003. The Kenyan government is trying to get the rally's WRC status restored. Since 2003 the event has been part of the African Rally Championship organized by the FIA. It is currently known as the KCB Safari Rally after its sponsor, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).

Local driver Shekhar Mehta was the most successful in the event with five outright victories (1973, 1979-1982).

Past winners

• 1953 - No official winner declared. Fewest penalty points:

Alan Dix / Johnny Larsen | Volkswagen Beetle 1131 cc

Doug Airth / Raymond Collinge | Standard Vanguard

• 1954 - Vic Preston Sr (Ken) / D P Marwaha | Volkswagen Beetle
• 1955 - Vic Preston Sr (Ken) / D P Marwaha | Ford Zephyr
• 1956 - Eric Cecil / Tony Vickers | DKW
• 1957 - Gus Hofmann /Arthur Burton | DKW
• 1958 - No official winner declared. Fewest penalty points:

Arne Kopperud /Kora Kopperud | Ford Zephyr II (Lion class)

Morris Temple-Boreham / Mike Armstrong | Auto Union 1000 (Leopard class)

Year	Rally Name / Dates	Winning Driver / Co-driver	Winning Car	Status
1959	7th East African Safari Rally	Bill Fritschy Jack Ellis	Mercedes-Benz 190
1960	8th East African Safari Rally	Bill Fritschy Jack Ellis	Mercedes-Benz 190
1961	9th East African Safari Rally	John Manussis Bill Coleridge David Beckett	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[2]
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 Safari Rally (3 - 7 Apr)	Shekhar Mehta Mike Doughty	Datsun 160J	WRC
1981	29th Safari Rally (16 - 29 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 Integrale	WRC
1989	37th Marlboro Safari Rally (23-27 Mar)	Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero	Lancia Delta Integrale	WRC
1990	38th Marlboro Safari Rally (11-16 Apr)	Björn Waldegård Fred Gallagher	Toyota Celica GT-4 ST165	WRC
1991	39th Martini Safari Rally 27 (Mar - 1 Apr)	Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen	Lancia Delta 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 (14-17 Apr)	Yoshio Fujimoto Arne Hertz	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD	2LWC
1996	44th Safari Rally (5-7 Apr)	Tommi Mäkinen Seppo Harjanne	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 3	WRC
1997	45th Safari Rally (1-3 Mar)	Colin McRae Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC	WRC
1998	46th Safari Rally (28 Feb - 2 Mar)	Richard Burns Robert Reid	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo 4	WRC
1999	47th Safari Rally (26-28 Feb)	Colin McRae Nicky Grist	Ford Focus	WRC
2000	48th Sameer Safari Rally (25-27 Feb)	Richard Burns Robert Reid	Subaru Impreza WRC	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	WRC
2003	51st KCB Safari Rally (9-11 Oct)	Glen Edmunds Titch Phillips	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6	ARC
2004	52nd KCB Safari Rally (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 7	ARC
2006	54th KCB Safari Rally (24 - 26 Mar)	Azar Anwar George Mwangi	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6	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 9	ARC
2009	57th KCB Safari Rally (3-5 Apr)	Carl Tundo Tim Jessop	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9	IRC & ARC

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

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.

Year	Dates	Winning Driver / Co-driver	Winning Car
2003	Dec 10 - Dec 19	Rob Collinge 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

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Safari Rally

• KMSF official website
• Kenya National Rally Championship
• African Rally Championship official website
• International Rally Challenge
• Race results since 1970 at Rallybase.nl website
• World Rally Archive - Safari Rally
• Article on VW Beetles' performances in the Safari Rally
• "The East African Safari Rally & Joginder Singh", Eric Cecil, 1973
• East African Safari Rally (classic) official website
• East African Safari Rally (classic) 2007 (Team 51 Pictures)