Sports
Classic Rally: Duncan leaves them all trailing
Ian Duncan's Mustang. Photo/ Anwar Sidi
Ian Duncan is the clear leader of the 2009 Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally after storming through the stages leading to the end of day six action of the world famous event.
Having earlier proved his mettle on the Tanzanian sector before entering Kenya, rally pundits will have less to bicker about the home advantage that may play in his favour if he continues to outplay his rivals to the end.
His Ford Mustang, supported by Goodyear/Sopa Lodges, scored its seventh quickest stage times of the competition with one in the Corner Baridi section and thus taking a good 12 minutes’ lead over Bjorn Waldegaard with three more days of the action left.
“There were many people in the stages and we encountered lots of giraffes and cows on the road. We were actually on a game ride,’’ joked Duncan as he checked in at the Sopa Lodge Time control.
The contest with the defending champion (Waldegaard) is set to continue though the Swede was unusually below his customary fire-power with slow stage times coming into Naivasha.
He reported of no major hiccups with his Porsche. In contrast, the Porsche of Gerard Marcy is back to its original form after a bad run that hit the Belgian driver since the beginning of the rally six days ago. It was fastest through the Loopholes stage.
“Today was a good day. No more punctures and no more problems. We have had five punctures so far and that is too much,’’ said Marcy. For the rest of the Kenyan contingent, home ground proved an advantage as the likes of Aslam Khan (Ford Escort), Marzio Kravos (Mercedes 450SLC), Steffano Rocca (Datsun 260Z), Samit Gehlot (Ford Escort) and Quentin Savage (Datsun 180B) registered impressive stage times.
Aziz Tejpar and Andy Nagi have been consistent so far having in 11th place their Ford Escort has been unable to break into the top 10. Considering the massive length of the rally and the conditions under which competitors endeavour during the competition, relationships between majority of the drivers and navigators has stayed healthy.
Provisional Results at Naivasha:
1. Ian Duncan/Amaar Slatch (Ford Mustang EAK/EAK) 11hr: 38mins: 36secs.
2. Bjorn Waldegaard/Igbal Sagoo (Porsche S/USA) 11:50:24
3. Steve Perez/Staffan Parmander (Datsun 260Z GB/S) 12:32:20
4. Geoff Bell/Tim Challen (Datsun 180B ZA/EAK) 12:37:28
5. Gerard Marcy/Stephane Prevot (Porshe 911 B/B) 13:03:17
6. Thomas Flohr/Didier Breton (Porsche 911 CH/F) 13:10:03
7. Jonathan Savage/Gavin Laurence (Datsun 260Z EAK/EAK) 13:10:03
8. Steve Troman/Calvin Cooledge (Porsche 911 GB/GB) 13:37:23
9. Jean-Pierre Mondron/Dan Ecrulisse (Porsche 911 B/B) 13:39:44
10. Graham Alexander/Ross Runnalls (Datsun 260Z Aus/Aus) 13:52:56
11. Paul-Eric Jerry/Jean-Francois Andreoli (Porsche 911 F/F) 14:18:55
12. Aziz Tejpar/Andy Nagi (Ford Escort GB/EAK) 14:24:12
13. Quinten Savage/Russel Savage (Datsun 180B EAK/EAK) 14:29:56
14. Samit Gehlot/Asit Patel (Ford Escort Mk1 EAK/EAK) 14:52:37
15. Richard Arrowsmith/Norris Midwood (Ford Escort GB/GB ) 14:53:56
16. Marzio Kravos/Renzo Bernardi (Mercedes 450SLC EAK/EAK) 15:29:22
17. Stefano Rocca/Piers Daykin (Datsun 280Z EAK/EAK) 15:36:00
18. Martin Aguirre/Luis Mirasol (Porsche 911 RP/USA) 15:46:36
19. Aslam Khan/Farhaaz Khan (Ford Escort Mk 1 EAK/EAK) 18:05:38
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