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Latest NewsBy A Correspondent The title for the 2007 Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally is headed for Europe with Bjorn Waldegaard in a commanding lead of the event scheduled to finish in Momabsa today. The veteran Safari Rally winner on four different occasions and one of the first foreign drivers to win the olden day East African Safari Classic Rally, starts the final day with over 17 minutes lead over his stiffest rival, Gerard Marcy in a Porshe 911. The Swedish driver in a Ford Escort, who has virtually led the rally from start to finish, is on verge of becoming the first foreign driver to win the rally celebrating its third edition barring any major hiccups in the remaining 740 kilometres. There are only three competitive stages left as the cars head for the finish of what has been described as one of the toughest rallies so far. Belgian Marcy, who has been quickest
in the Tanzanian side of the rally, has virtually given up on catching
Waldegaard though anything can happen between Arusha and Mombasa today. Whichever the fight ends today, the title will for the first time leave Kenya since Rob Collinge won it twice once in 2003 and then 2005. The Europeans were left on their own as local drivers struggled to get to the top. Ian Duncan went the furthest (5th) before he withdrew from the rally on day five. John Rose and Mike Borissow are the best-placed Kenyans in the ninth place driving a Datsun 260Z. However, local navigators have better than the drivers with Peter Young and Rob Hellier being the best of the lots accompanying South African drivers. Young with Roddy Sachs was best=placed local navigator in the seventh place while Hellier with Wayne Kieswetter follows in the eighth place. Two of the leading drivers, John Lloyd in a Datsun 260Z and Steven Perez in a Ford Escort crashed out after mishaps in the Meserani section. Apart from Perez, all the rest of the drivers came out unscathed. Perez complained of neck pains after he was able to limp to the end of the section in his Escort. The Briton on his first rally in Kenya was airlifted to a Nairobi hospital for specialized. Rommy Bhamrah in a Datsun 260Z, Shahid Wissanji in a BMW and Aslam Khan in a Ford Escort were the next best-placed local drivers in the 26th, 27th, and 30th positions respectively. Prina Shah, who broke her finger in an earlier accident, was also through the final stage with husband Ekya in a Colt Lancer. Prinas father Jayant Shah was one of the only two Tanzanians in the rally having stayed with the rally heading for the finish. Jayant was placed 29th while Larry Horn the best-placed Tanzanian driver in the 21st place driving a Datusn 260Z. Provisional Results: Provisional
results: 1. Bjorn Waldegaard/Mathias Waldegaard (Ford Escort Mk1, S/S)
13hrs.43mins.33secs; 2. Gerard Marcy/Alain Lopes (Porsche 911, B/B) 14.00.30;
3. Frederic Dor/ Didier Breton (Porsche 911, F/F) 14.11.07; 4. Geoff Fielding/Preston
Ayres (Porsche 911, GB/GB) 15.04.15; 5. Paul Eric-Jarry/Craig Redelinghuys
(Porsche 911, CZ/ZA) 15.30.12; 6.Stig Blomqvist/Ana Goni (Ford Escort
Mk1, S/YV) 15.43.47; 7. Roddy Sachs/Peter Young (Datsun 180B, ZA/EAK)
16.12.01; 8. Wayne Kieswetter/Rob Hellier (Datsun 180B, ZA/EAK) 16.35.32;
9. John Rose/Michael Borrisow (Datsun 240Z, EAK/EAK)17.0129; 10. Graham
Alexander/Ross Runnels (Datsun 260Z, AUS/AUS) 17.03.46. Death of a former Safari rally driver and a senior official of the 2007 Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally, mars the competition now its final day. Briton Tony fall, one of the well known former world rally drivers died in his sleep on Saturday night in Arusha. He was an international rally driver and team manager who had a soft spot for the East African Safari Rally. It is a sad day for motor sports around the world and especially the Classic Rally where he was among my team of senior officials. It would have been his wish for the rally to continue. said Event Director Surinder Thatthi. Thatthi worked under Fall when the latter managed the Opel Word Rally Teams victory in the 1983 Safari Rally at the hands of Ari Vatanen of Finland. Jonathan Ashman, one of the senior FIA officials in Arusha for the Classic rally said he was saddened by the death of a very humble person. The organsiers of the rally were making arrangement for the body to be flown to Nairobi first before proceeding on to England. Fall was 67 years of age. His early exploits behind the wheel of a rally car were mainly in Mini Coopers winning a Coupe des Alps on his first attempt and the Polish Rally. He then drove Lancias and it was at the wheel of a Lancia Fulvia that he made his first appearance on a Safari and somehow managed to get the little car to the finish. He then shifted his allegiance to Datsun finishing sixth on the 1972 Safari with Rauno Aaltonen in a 240Z and fourth in 1973 in an 1800SSS. Fall continued to drive for Datsun with occasional sorties for Peugeot and BMW before starting his own preparation company, Dealer Opel Team, in the UK. Within two years, he had been sufficiently successful to be offered the job of running all Opels competition activities. He was responsible for creating the Ascona 400 and Manta 400 and it was not long before Opel were out on Safari trying to win. They came very close a couple of times with Rauno Aaltonen and Walter Röhrl with second places in 1982 and 1984 but it was Ari Vatanen who gave them the outright win in 1983. Röhrl had won the World Rally Championship in 1982 but Opel decided not to pursue their rally programme after 1985 despite Fall showing them what could be done with two 4x4 Kadetts on the Paris-Dakar in 1986. Since then, Tony has run a company manufacturing roll cages and safety equipment for all kinds of vehicles including, of course, rally cars. He has some old rally cars of his own, notably a Datsun 240Z, which he frequently drove in classic rallies and he has always been a big supporter of the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic for which he was acting as an official this year. History is set to repeat as Bjorn Waldegaard heads for the finish of the 2007 Kenya Airway East African Safari Classic Rally with one of the most prestigious victories in sight as cars headed out of Tanzania this morning. The first European driver to break the dominance of the local drivers when he won his first Safari Rally in 1972, has his eyes set on the becoming the first foreign driver to win the East African Safari Classic Rally in its third edition if, his Ford Escort can survive the final 740kms of the 4369 before the rally comes to an end today in Mombasa Waldegaards main threat is Gerard Marcy, who since entering the Tanzanian side has produced been one of the most scintillating performances of the whole competition. However, Marcy faces an uphill struggle to beat one of the most experienced Safari Rally drivers in the competition with four Safari rally wins behind the Swede. With a big lead going into the final day, Waldegaard is expected to play a technical game that should assure him the title barring any major disasters on the run to the finish. ˜Yes I have big lead but I cant relax. The car is tired the driver is tired and old. It is only my navigator who is young. I need to concentrate, joked Waldegaard as he checked into Arusha. Every yard of the remaining three stages totaling 148Kms and transport of 590kms will be mind boggling contest for the Swede to become the first-ever European driver to win the East African Classic Rally. Rob Collinge won the 2003 and 2005 editions Accidents and the death of one of the senior officials of the rally (see separate story) marred the penaultimate day of the KQ-sponsored after two of the leading drivers crashed out of the competition while lying in the top-10 position. John Lloyd in a Datsun 260Z and Steve Perez in a similar car sadly bowed out with heavy crashes in the Mererani section in Tanzania. I did exactly what I did last time but the difference was the car didnt catch fire. It went out of control at 80mph after hitting a ditch. The car is in a mess but luckily no injuries to us, said Lloyd after he was airlifted to Arusha by a helicopter. The Briton, who has been one of the staunchest supporters of the Safari rally, said it was really embarrassing when my 10-year-old son you did exactly the same four years ago! Debutant Steven Perez was not so lucky after his car hit a deep hole in the same section. Though the car was able to limp to the end of stage, Perez complained of neck and back pains which required medical treatment. The Briton on his first rally in Kenya, was immediately airlifted to a Nairobi hospital. His navigator, Michael Stuart was not injured. John Rose and Mike Borissow maintained
the top-placed Kenyan position as cars prepared to re-enter Kenya through
the Lunga Lunga boarder. The Nakuru-based driver in the ninth place while
locals Peter Two of the leading drivers crashed out of the competition while lying in the top-10 position. John Lloyd in a Datsun 260Z and Steve Perez in a similar car sadly bowed out with heavy crashes in the Mererani section in Tanzania. I did exactly what I did last time but the difference was the car didnt catch fire. It went out of control at 80mph after hitting a ditch. The car is in a mess but luckily no injuries to us, said Lloyd after he was airlifted to Arusha by a helicopter. The Briton, who has been one of the staunchest supporters of the Safari rally, said it was really embarrassing when my 10-year-old son you did exactly the same four years ago! Debutant Steven Perez was not so lucky after his car hit a deep hole in the same section. Though the car was able to limp to the end of stage, Perez complained of neck and back pains which required medical treatment. The Briton on his first rally in Kenya, was immediately airlifted to a Nairobi hospital. His navigator, Michael Stuart was not injured. John Rose and Mike Borissow maintained the top-placed Kenyan position in the ninth place while Kenya navigator Peter Young and Rob Hellier have helped South Africas Roddy Sachs and Kieswetter to the seventh and eighth places respectively as cars prepared to re-enter Kenya through the Lunga Lunga boarder. Rommy Bhamrah and Shahid Wissanji were the next Kenyan crew to be motoring well though they were yet to report at the final Time Cntrol. Provisional Results: Provisional results: 1. Bjorn Waldegaard/Mathias Waldegaard (Ford Escort Mk1, S/S) 13hrs.43mins.33secs; 2. Gerard Marcy/Alain Lopes (Porsche 911, B/B) 14.00.30; 3. Frederic Dor/ Didier Breton (Porsche 911, F/F) 14.11.07; 4. Geoff Fielding/Preston Ayres (Porsche 911, GB/GB) 15.04.15; 5. Paul Eric-Jarry/Craig Redelinghuys (Porsche 911, CZ/ZA) 15.30.12; 6.Stig Blomqvist/Ana Goni (Ford Escort Mk1, S/YV) 15.43.47; 7. Roddy Sachs/Peter Young (Datsun 180B, ZA/EAK) 16.12.01; 8. Wayne Kieswetter/Rob Hellier (Datsun 180B, ZA/EAK) 16.35.32; 9. John Rose/Michael Borrisow (Datsun 240Z, EAK/EAK)17.0129; 10. Graham Alexander/Ross Runnels (Datsun 260Z, AUS/AUS) 17.03.46. By A Correspondent The Kenya Airways Safari Classic fraternity was reeling in shock and disbelief following the sudden demise of veteran British rally professional driver and volunteer. Richard Tony Fall, a veteran of the old type Safari and service supervisor for this event, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his hotel room near Arusha on Saturday night just after he had meticulously executed his duties and was bracing for a day that never was. A somber mood amongst rally officials, media and team members epitomized the solidarity of the Classic Safari when the news broke out at Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge. A bulletin from the Safari Classic secretariat said: with great regret that we have to announce the sudden and unexpected death of Richard Tony Fall. The cause of the death wasnt immediately established, but event Director Surinder Thatthi said the East African Classic Safari Rally Limited was making efforts to have the body airlifted to London via Nairobi today. Falls contemporary drivers and officials consoled his family. The KQ Safari Classic Press Officer John Davenport recalled the days he worked with the deceased as a team member and works team opposition during the formative years of the Safari Rally and the World rally Championship. He was such a jolly fellow and real character of the rally scene. I navigated him once and we soon became competitors in the mid 70s when I managed the British Leyland works team and he was at General Motors,'' said Davenport who navigated him once on the Monte Carlo Rally in the 60s way before the WRC came to the fore. "We saw each other many times
and he would banter over which team would carry the day, added Until his death, Fall was CEO of British Role cage manufacturer, Safety Devices. He has for the past 15 years supplied various works teams and North African Raid Rally cars. By A Correspondent Swede Bjorn Waldegaard inched closer to the Kenya Airways Safari Classic Rally victory as vintage cars pulled into Arushas Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge on penultimate day of the event. The four-time Safari Rally winner clung to his lead despite suffering clutch and steering rack problems on the events longest stage run (154Km) at Meserani. All he needs to do is to bring his Ford Escort Mark 1 machine in one piece at Sarova Whitesands Hotel finish in North Coast tomorrow. With a finish in sight and three short stages to spare there will be no stopping the man who won his first Safari Rally in 1977. Waldegaard served up great moments ahead as he eagerly waited to break the foreign drivers jinx after Kenyan Rob Collinge won the first two events. Though his run was briefly impeded on the longest stage he managed to post impressive stage times. Our clutch went 60Km into the first stage and the steering rack was turning loose. We fixed it in service and regained our composure in the last stage, said Waldegaard. Belgian Gerald Marcy maintained his dogged campaign for the second position but staunchly admitted that it was an unrealistic ambition chasing the legendary driver. Marcy was three minutes faster than Waldegaard in the first stage but lost four minutes with a puncture at Sanya Juu stage. It is impossible to chase that margin, not unless he (Waldegaard) breaks down tomorrow, Marcy quipped. Marcy set the fastest time at the long Meserani stage but Waldegaard clawed back to win the Sanya Juu section in 42.53minutes. The challenging and grueling nature of the Classic took toll on two more competitors as cars prepared to cross the border tomorrow. The casualties were reportedly safe after todays run but John Perez was airlifted to Nairobi Hospital for specialized treatment after a minor off on the first stage. Perez complained of neck pains but limped to the end of the first stage after hitting a bank. Englishman Briton John Lloyd also rolled the ex-Mike Kirkland Datsun on the first stage but came out of the incident unscathed. This was Lloyds second Safari accident after his car exploded into flames in the 2005 edition near the Lunga Lunga Border. The rally restarts from Ngurdoto
Lodge tomorrow and heads Makanya, Korogwe befoe crossing the boarder at
Lunga Lunga. There will one stage (Kinango-Mazeras) in Kenya with the
first car expected Kenyan Jonathan Savage was among the three drivers expected to restart tomorrow. Savage flipped his Datsun 260Z on Saturday and was busy fixing the car for the last day of the marathon rally. It would be meaningless to do 90% of the rally then bow out on the very latter stages. We have to be at the finish ramp no matter what, said Savage. Provisional Results: Provisional results: 1. Bjorn Waldegaard/Mathias Waldegaard (Ford Escort Mk1, S/S) 13hrs.43mins.33secs; 2. Gerard Marcy/Alain Lopes (Porsche 911, B/B) 14.00.30; 3. Frederic Dor/ Didier Breton (Porsche 911, F/F) 14.11.07; 4. Geoff Fielding/Preston Ayres (Porsche 911, GB/GB) 15.04.15; 5. Paul Eric-Jarry/Craig Redelinghuys (Porsche 911, CZ/ZA) 15.30.12; 6.Stig Blomqvist/Ana Goni (Ford Escort Mk1, S/YV) 15.43.47; 7. Roddy Sachs/Peter Young (Datsun 180B, ZA/EAK) 16.12.01; 8. Wayne Kieswetter/Rob Hellier (Datsun 180B, ZA/EAK) 16.35.32; 9. John Rose/Michael Borrisow (Datsun 240Z, EAK/EAK)17.0129; 10. Graham Alexander/Ross Runnels (Datsun 260Z, AUS/AUS) 17.03.46.
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