Kenya did shine bright as the great East African Safari classic rally came to a close after ten days of brutal and harsh racing conditions in Watamu on 18 February 2022. Baldev Charger and navigator Drew Sturrock scored their maiden victory win in the event in their Porsche 911. The Kabras racing’s team did an overall time of 16:40:10.6 becoming the sixth Kenyans to win the EASC since its inauguration back in 2003.
Charger, surprisingly did not win any stage throughout the event, but always secured a third place or fourth place finish and at times coming in second but did not win any stage but his vast experience on the Kenyan roads from his time in the KNRC came in handy. He credited his win of the rally to consistency and smart pacing throughout all the ten days. This was a really good strategy as they managed to keep their car intact, suffering minor setbacks but keeping their Porsche intact.
Swedish racer Patrik Sandell and navigator Henrik Bolinder came in second place in their Porsche 911 SC Proto at 16:47:54.5, they were 7:43.9 behind Charger after coming in fifth place in the last stage of Tezo losing time to narrow the difference. Sandell scored nine first place wins out of the twenty four competitive stages, the most out of all the competitors (two stages were cancelled for safety concerns-SS12 Ithumba and SS17 Tsavo River). Swedish drivers have had a good run at the event, winning in 2007, 2011 and 2015, Bjorn Waldegard wining in the 2007 and 2011. Completing the rally in itself was seen as a big accomplishment to the drivers who collectively agreed that it lived up to its name as the toughest classic rally ever.
Legendary Kenyan driver Ian Duncan (who has won the EASC twice) navigated by Anthony Nielsen secured a second podium win for Kenya as they finished third at 16:52:49.3 in their Rover SD1 Vitesse. Sticking to his experience in the rallying world, Duncan kept steady pace placing among the top ten as the event unfolded. In fourth place, was Lee Rose navigated by Douglas McNeil, in their Ford Escort RS 1800 MKII. The team proving Kenya’s dominance in the event, as Rose won the opening stage in Elementaita that opened the event. He also won SS13 Elenkay proving that experience on the rough terrains helped out a lot though he incurred a penalty of 12:30* Closing out the top five, was the only driver from Hong Kong, Phillip Kadoorie navigated by Ryan Champion in a Porsche 911 with a time of 17:18:27.4. Kadoorie scored two stage wins in SS4-Abardare and SS21-Sala.
The rally did not turn out how most had hoped, as the extreme high temperatures, dust, “fesh fesh” from the mountain sides, and rough terrains did a number on most of the car tires. Defending champion from Austria Kris Rosenberger sadly finished in sixth position overall with navigator Nicola Bleicher in their Porsche 911 SC Proto after suffering mechanical issues throughout the event. One that stuck to consistency, steadily climbing from low ranks, was Belgium’s Van Cauwenberge Joost with co-driver Jacques Castelein in a Porsche 911 Carrera RS Proto. With 17:33:30.4, the team steadily found their pace throughout the rally finishing seventh. In eighth place was another Kenyan, Piers Daykin navigated by Pierre Arries in a Datsun 280Z, with 17:39:06.5. They suffered a penalty of 24:00* David Danglard and navigator Gavin Laurence in their Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 from USA came in ninth at 17:58:23.8 and from Italy Federico Polese navigated by Nicola Arena in a Porsche 911 SC Proto closed the top ten.
American legendary driver dubbed the “speed machine” Ken Block and navigator Alessandro Gelsomino finished nineteenth even though they were out of contention for the rally as they were penalized for receiving outside assistance when their car hit a rock and got really damaged, a fine of two hours that put them out of the top ten and leaving them out of classification for the rest of the rally after SS* Block lived up to his nickname, winning eight of the stages including the very last stage of the event in Tezo, proving that he had come to win and he did leave a mark on the event as so many rally fans were looking forward to seeing him do his thing. This was a classic rally like no other, and it surely lived up to the hype. The next one is scheduled in 2024.
