Stig Blomqvist gears up for East Africa Safari Classic Rally

What you need to know:

  • The 1984 World Rally champion, Stig Blomqvist, has stepped up his preparations for the East Africa Safari Classic Rally.
  • Blomqvist, the reigning champion of East Africa Safari Classic Rally, has wqarmed up for the competition with a series of events, among them a test-run with his Tuthill Porsche team in Wales.
  • Blomqvist will drive a Porsche 911 car in the event.
  • The competition will be flagged off at Sarova Whitesands Hotel on November 23.

The 1984 World Rally champion, Stig Blomqvist, has stepped up his preparations for the East Africa Safari Classic Rally.

Blomqvist, the reigning champion of East Africa Safari Classic Rally, has wqarmed up for the competition with a series of events, among them a test-run with his Tuthill Porsche team in Wales.

Blomqvist will drive a Porsche 911 car in the event.

The competition will be flagged off at Sarova Whitesands Hotel on November 23. The race, which will take competitors to Tanzania, will end at the same venue on December 1.

Two other competitors, Ryan Champion of Great Britain and Italy’s Gilberto Sandretto, are also gearing up for the competition with a series of events in Wales. Champion returns as co-driver of his compatriot Richard Jackson.

And Tuthill team boss Richard Tuthill is optimistic both Blomqvist and Gilberto will perform well at the event.

“It’s great to see Stig back behind the wheels. His driving style is efficient and effortless and the cars have been super reliable. The venue is perfect for shaking cars down. It means we can load our 911s into the container knowing that they are ready to start the event as soon as they arrive,” Tuthil said after Blomqvist’s test run late last month.

Tuthill’s pre-Safari programme will include two more shakedown and test events out in Wales before the cars are shipped to Kenya next month. 

The event is sponsored by telecomunications giant Safaricom, Kenya Wildlife Service, Copy Cat Group, Sarova Group of Hotels, Internet Solutions, Vipingo Ridge as well as the Kenya Motor Sports Federation and Automobile Association of Tanzania. Six-time Kenya Champion Ian Duncan, Frenchman Philippe Gache and Jonathan Somen of Kenya have signed up for the event.