Heavy rains force cancellation of day three rally action

The East African Safari Classic Rally organisers were forced to cancel Day Three action Saturday following heavy rains.

Cars were expected to race around Ponane, Monduli and Samora areas in Arusha, Tanzania but conditions were deemed dangerous after an overnight deluge.

“Day three has been cancelled after an agreement by the majority of the crews, this was due to adverse weather conditions making the stages critically unsafe,” reads a bulletin from the rally organisers.

Kenya’s Onkar Rai now leads the event in his Porsche 911 followed by Austria’s Kris Rosenberger in a Tuthill Porsche, while former Classic and 1984 WRC winner Swede Stig Blomqvist is third.

Earlier in day two action Baldev Chager stormed through five stages first before his Porsche stopped abruptly in the section due to gearbox problem.

He failed to meet the deadline to start SS6 as the car was being worked on.

Ian Duncan’s navigator Anthony Nielsen in their Austin Vitesse said it was a challenging day for all the competitors.

“We like mud, we know Kenya and we love it. For us that was a good motivation who worked overnight to sort the engine,”

Italian Queen of Rally Fabrizia Ponz, in a Porsche 911 said the weather was terrible. “We can’t do anything about it. This is a very true safari but we have to bear in mind the safety of the cars and the people and everybody in it. As for yesterday we had our own challenges.”

Former winner Swede Stig Blomqvist driving a Porsche 911 said day three weather was just bad luck for everyone.

“Normally you don’t expect this kind of rain and weather at this time of the year. It’s really bad luck for everyone. In the old day we had our own mud crew everywhere to help us out of trouble but now we can’t have that kind of crew because of the costs.”

The fourth day will start at 7am Sunday.

Cars will tackle the following stages: Kifaru1/Mwanga (40.07km), Same1/Mkomazi1 (91.86km) and Old Korogwe1/Magazoni1 (53.60km) before spending the night at the Popatlal School.

Monday will be a rest day in Tanga, Tanzania where crews will be allowed to carry out mechanical work on their respective vehicles under time limits.

Former winner of the event, Stiq Blomqvist said he was happy to finish the second day’s stages though there was little rain. Blomqvist was driving a Porsche 911.

Kris Rosenberger of Austria was an excited driver though he faced minor issues in the wet conditions driving a Porsche 911.

“Day two was fantastic. The only major issue was the wiper fell off and my navigator Nikki had to get out several times to wipe out the windscreen. Niki also did a good job reading the notes it was the best day in the office so far. The second stage was rough a bit and tough in the road. No mechanical problem at all,” commented Rosenberger.