Original Story Published by: Agence France Presse for Capital FM
Photography by: Simon Maina/AFP File
(Above) The race has its roots in imperial adventurism when a group of British colonial farmers decided in 1953 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation by tearing up East Africa in a five-day, 6,000-kilometre (3,300-mile) rally.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 2 – In its heyday, half a century ago, East Africa’s Safari Rally was renowned as being among the toughest in the world, a formidable challenge for car and driver, across escarpment and savannah.
Winners have included Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Ari Vatanen, and the difference between victory and defeat sometimes depended on which car avoided herds of cattle wandering on the road.
The rally’s fall from grace was slow but steady and, after the 2002 edition, it was dropped from the World Rally Championship (WRC) altogether. It limped on in African competition for a few years but in 2015 and 2016 was reduced to a local Kenyan race.
But now hopes are rising of a revival and a return to its past glory, with the motor sport governing body, the FIA, signalling the rally’s possible return to the championship.
To read the full article, visit Capital FM.
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