Duncan overnight Classic leader as cars cross over into Tanzania
Nick Mason's 260Z tackles the opening of the Kenya Airways East African Classic Safari Rally on November 20, 2011. Photo/NATION
They say variety is the spice of life and this was definitely the case for the first competitive day of the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally.
There was a large range of conditions with the leader board chopping and changing throughout the day.
The 2009 winners, Ian Duncan and Amaar Slatch, were in the lead after the first competitive section in their Ford Capri with Bjorn and Mathias Waldegård in second place in their Porsche 911, whilst Steve Perez and Staffan Parmander were in third in their Datsun 260Z.
The twists and turns of the second competitive section in the Taita Hills saw a change in the top three with Duncan dropping down to fifth place after a navigational error, placing Waldegård in the lead.
On this second section Travis Pastrana and Fabrizia Pons set fastest time by over half a minute in their Porsche 911, pulling them up from fifth to second place with Belgian crew Grégoire de Mévius and Alain Guehennec in third place in another Porsche 911.
Unfortunately Perez who did so well on the first section hit problems in the second section with a broken propshaft and slipped down the field.
“We got lost for about a minute in the second section and hit a rock in the last section but there’s been no problems with the car,” said Duncan.
Meanwhile strong favourite and several-times East African Safari Classic competitor Gérard Marcy had climbed up to fourth despite still suffering a lack of power in his Porsche 911.
The third competitive section saw another change of fortunes for many but not so for Waldegård who kept his lead.
“With such a variety of conditions it was a full Safari in one day,” he said.
De Mévius moved up to second place despite hitting a stone that was hidden in the mud at the end of the section.
“We discovered the famous black cotton mud,” he said. “And we also discovered a large stone but fortunately it was a rolling one!”
After such an impressive performance on the second section, Pastrana also hit a rock and suffered a puncture on the front right as well as damaging the rim.
