Baldev Chager adds Classic Rally title to collection
Joey Ghose and Stephan Prevot power their Ford Escort MK1 through Stage 10 on the final day of the Top Fry Classic Safari Rally on August 3, 2019. PHOTO | ANWAR SIDI |
What you need to know:
- Champion finishes just under 15 minutes ahead of second placed Rai
Porsche grabbed the top two positions with Baldev Chager adding the 2019 Top Fry Classic Rally title to the KCB Safari rally title he won last month last month.
Chager secured victory in the Rift Valley Motor and Sports Club’s round of the classic rally series for the second time in his illustrious rallying career, his Porsche finishing 14 minutes and 37.2 seconds ahead of Onkar Rai similar Porsche.
Geoff Bell of South Africa claimed third place in his Datsun 240Z with Tim Challen of Kenya as his navigator.
Carl Tundo, who was in the top three for most of the competition, dropped to the seventh in a Triumph TR7. Navigated by Tim Jessop, he suffered mechanical problems on the penultimate day before rejoining the final day after repairs.
Tanzania’s Jayant Shah and his Kenyan navigator Arshard Khan finished in the 10th position driving a Porsche 911, just a second ahead of the 11th placed Rob Hellier and Dougy Rundgren in a Datsun 180B at the end of the four-day competition that covered 1,310 kilometres of which 845 were competitive.
FINISHED EIGHTH
Twice winner of the East African Safari Classic Rally, Ian Duncan was finished eighth after earlier problems which had slowed his Ford Mustang.
Rules for the classic rallies are not as tough as those in the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) events.
In the classic rally, any crew missing a time control faces a penalty of 30 minutes. The crew is allowed to rejoin the event later.
A crew failing to finish a stage faces a penalty of ideal time as per itinerary, plus 75 percent of the ideal time.
Provisional Results:
1. Baldev Chager/Ravi Soni (Porsche 911) 10:06:20.4
2. Onkar Rai/Gareth Dawe (Porsche 911) 10:20:57.2
3. Geoff Bell/Tim Challen (Datsun 240Z) 10:29:31.8
4. Tejveer Rai/Gavin Laurence (Porsche 91) 10:29:39.9
5. Joey Ghose/Stepahan Prevot (Escort MK1) 11:41:31.0
6. Carl Tundo/Tim Jessop (Triumph TR8) 12:01:02.8
7. Andrew Siddle/Alex Lee (Datsun 240Z) 12:31:42.3
8. Ian Duncan/Anthony Neilsen (Ford Mustang) 12:42:40.8
9. Steve Parkinson/Russel Parkinson (Ford Escort MK1) 13:22:28.6
10. Jayant Shah/Arshad Khan (Porsche 911) 13:31:30.6
11. Rob Hellier/Dougy Rundgren (Datsun 180B) 13:32:30.7
12. Kailesh Chauhan/Tariq Malik (Escort MK2) 13:39:58.4
13. Dez Page-Morris/Geoff Page-Morris (Datsun 240Z) 18:59.04.8
14. Kirit Rajput/Kashif Sheikh (BMW 321) 18:59:36.1
15. Lola Verlaque/Eddy Verlaque (Escort MK1) 23:00:49.7
