East African Safari Rally; A late entry?

The organisers of the Kenya Airways Safari Classic have just completed another weeklong recce of the route in the course of which, a prospective entrant approached Surinder Thatthi, the Event Director, at the Naivasha Sopa Lodge. Strolling onto the lawn (see attached photo), the gentleman enquired whether there was a place for a late entry. Informed that there was not, he took a few mouthfuls of grass and headed off for the swimming pool. Certainly, if the sole requirement needed to win rallies were to have a heavy right foot, then this chap would have been a formidable rival for ex-World Champions, Björn Waldegård and Stig Blomqvist. Though accommodating him in the front seat of a rally car could have presented a bit of a problem …

Fortunately the kind of obstacles that the team found on the recce were of the normal rally kind like a ford created by recent rains in the Kerio Valley (see attached photo) while the large animal brigade kept themselves at a discreet distance. There is no such guarantee during the rally when competitors and spectators may well get a close-up view of any one of the amazing variety of animals and birds that inhabit Kenya and Tanzania.

For this comprehensive recce, Surinder Thatthi was accompanied by his Deputy Clerk of the Course, Mike Summerfield from England and the Assistant Clerk of the Course, Richard Leeke from South Africa. Summerfield is an ex-competitor and experienced organiser of long distance events while Leeke is also an ex-competitor and more recently Clerk of the Course for the Zulu Rally.


» Pressrelease från Safarirallyt, www.eastafricansafarirally.com.

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