The East African Safari Classic rally (EASC) kicked off its competition with the first competitive day on the 10th of February with over forty six drivers in contention, covering a competitive distance of over 5000km.
With an entry list dominated by Tuthill Porsche, with sixteen Porsche cars in competition, the most out of all entries, it was shaping up to be a classic rally like no other. First on the road was the defending champion from Austria, Kris Rosenberger navigated by Nicola Bleicher in their Porsche 911. The event kicked off in Naivasha and by the end of the day, Ken Block (the American speed machine) had taken the lead alongside his navigator Alex Gelsomino in their Porsche 911. Ahead of the rest with a forty one second lead, with a time of 01:02:04.5. Block, in an interview with the press said, “The classic rally is one of the toughest rallies but am up to the challenge” It is his first time competing in the classic and fans are looking forward to see his racing form on the rough unforgiving Kenyan terrains.
Kris Rosenberger and co-driver Nicola Bleicher came in close second with 01:02:45.9, Kenya’s Baldev Charger and co-driver Drew Sturrock came in third place, also in a Porsche 911 with 01:03:43.6. Joost Van Cauwenberge from Belgium co-driven by Jacques Castelein in a Porsche 911 came in fourth at 01:03:53.5 and Carl Tundo co-driven by Timothy Jessop closed out the top five at 01:04:27.8 in their Triumph TR7. The rough terrains and sharp hairpins claimed its causalities with Kenya’s Frank Tundo navigated by Gareth Dawe rolling their Triumph TR7 but managing to get back on the road after getting some help from locals.
As day two kicked off early in the morning with forty five entries and three stages to cover in Abardare, Moguni (which had the longest distance of 100.47km), and Loldaiga, the rally had shifted and Baldev Charger/Drew Sturrock had finished the day as the lead. They did a time of 5:04:58.8. Patrik Sandell/Henrik Bolinder came into contention finishing second in their Porsche 911 at 5:07:06 and Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino had slid to third place after losing time as they came face to face with the beautiful Kenyan wildlife. Block reiterating the rally is unlike any other with open roads so they were trying to avoid everything from elephants, zebras to pedestrians and motorcycles! As day two came to a close, a new top five had emerged, with the legendary Ian Duncan/Anthony Neilsen in a Rover Vitesse in fourth place at 5:10:24.4 and Piers Daykin/Pierre Arries in fifth in their Datsun 240Z, Kenya dominating the top five.
Day three was full of its ups and downs, but Kenya’s Baldev Charger held onto the first position as the day ended, crediting it to consistency and steady pace, doing a time of 7:41:17 to close. Patrik Sandell also held onto second place with 7:42:25.4, and not to count him out, Ian Duncan came in third place at 7:47:38.8. Piers Daykin came in fourth place and Ken Block in fifth. Kris Rosenberger came in sixth after having some technical difficulties with his suspension.
The fourth day proved to be one of the hardest out of the previous days, with 216.49km to cover. After cancelling the last stage SS12-Ithumba which was meant to have a competitive distance of 100.33km, Patrik Sandell came out overall lead with 9:16:46.7, Baldev Charger in second with 9:18:29.2, Ian Duncan in third with 9:23:27, Kris Rosenberger managing to come back into the top five with 9:29:25, and Kenya’s Piers Daykin closing out the top five at 9:30:05.
All eyes are focused as the rally keeps unfolding and the race of consistency is tested.
