Safari Rally comes of age
By Feverpitch Writer
Kenya remains one of the most talked about countries in the world of rallying despite numerous changes that have transformed the Safari Rally from an antic marathon to present-day competition where modern technology has gone beyond expectation.
Celebrating 58th edition of the Safari Rally, the last eight having been sponsored by Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), the transformation of one of famous rallies in the world has changed the image of the sport.
The event, which started as the East African Coronation Safari in 1953, had three different starting points, unlike the present format where the Kenyatta International Conference Centre has been the only starting and finishing point of the KCB Safari Rally.
Earlier editions of the Safari Rally would have three separate starting points depending on where the competitors lived (Nairobi for Kenyans, Morogoro for Tanzanians and Kampala for Ugandans), but the rally would end in Nairobi.
The rules for the event were simple as all the cars were to be in showroom condition with no modification allowed to improve their performance. Categories were divided into four, based on the showroom price of the car. Each class would have its own target time for the event, with no overall winner.
Entry fee for this historic event was Sh100 (£5). The event was timed to finish at the same time the Queen was being crowned in Westminster Abbey.
Back then, the event ran from May 27 to June 1, 1953. The event was a run flat-out on some of the worst roads in East Africa.
There were neither rest periods nor organised servicing. Crews could, however, carry some spares. The event established a reputation for toughness from the first edition.
Average speed
The average speed set for the Volkswagens was 43mph and, out of the 56 cars that started, only 16 made it back to Nairobi within the time allowed, a further 11 crews struggled in much later. Current cars hit an average of over 100kph on some sections.
The introduction of high-tech cars and of the special stages effectively brought rallying into the modern era. It placed a premium on fast driving, and enabled healthy programmes of smaller events to spring up in other parts of the world. Since then, the nature of the events has evolved slowly.
The increasing costs both of organisation and of competition, as well as safety concerns have over the last 20 years brought progressively shorter rallies and stages and the elimination of night time running, referred to as “office hours rallying” by older hands.
Some of the older international events have gone and have been replaced by others from a much wider spread of countries around the world.
Today, rallying is a worldwide sport. Fields have shrunk dramatically, as the amateur, in his near-standard car, is squeezed out.
Source: The Standard | Online Edition
