The East African Coronation Safari was created by cousins Eric Cecil and Neil Vincent to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Covering Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, the rally was timed to finish as the new Queen was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Ninety crews set off across the East African wilderness, with Alan Dix claiming victory in a Volkswagen Beetle.
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1953
What began as an East African event was rapidly attracting attention from around the world. International competitors arrived to test their mettle against the rally's unique mix of distance and unforgiving terrain. The race was now a firm fixture on the FIA's international motorsport calendar.
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1957
The event adopted the name East African Safari Rally, the title it would carry for the next fourteen years. By now, the rally had a growing reputation as one of racing's greatest endurance challenges. Winners through this period included Vic Preston Sr. in a Ford Zephyr in 1955, setting the stage for the rally's growing reputation as an endurance test.
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1960
Joginder Singh and his brother Jaswant drove their Volvo PV544 to victory, making Joginder the first Sikh driver to win an international rally. The achievement earned him national hero status in Kenya and the nickname that would follow him throughout his career: "The Flying Sikh".
1965
Seventy-four cars started. Just seven reached the finish. Torrential conditions and impassable roads trapped competitors across the route, particularly on the notorious Mau Escarpment. The edition became part of Safari folklore and became a defining test of the route's punishing terrain.
1968
Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm became the first European crew to win the Safari, driving a Ford Escort RS1600 to victory. This ushered in a new era where the Safari became a key fixture on the international calendar with major factory investment from Lancia, Toyota, Ford, and Subaru.
1972
Kenyan driver Shekhar Mehta won the first Safari Rally to count towards the FIA World Rally Championship, driving a Datsun 240Z. It was the beginning of a remarkable record that would make him the rally's most successful driver ever — five wins in total (1973, 1979–1982), a record only later matched by fellow Kenyan Carl Tundo.
1973
The Safari adopted a special-stage format, bringing it closer to the structure used elsewhere in the World Rally Championship. Competitors faced more than 1,000 kilometres of timed stages, preserving the scale and difficulty for which the event was known.
1996
Fifty years after the original rally, the East African Safari Classic Rally was launched. Open to vehicles built before 1985, the inaugural event attracted fifty-three entries, all built in 1971 or earlier. The founding event for classic car enthusiasts was revived, keeping the original spirit alive for any driver brave enough to take on the challenge.
2003
Porsche has become the car to beat in the Classic era, with Tuthill Porsche claiming five victories – more than any other team. Along the way, the rally has produced some truly memorable moments and the race as unpredictable as ever. In 2019, heavy rains forced stages to be cancelled and reduced the field to just 25 finishers from 48 starters. As always in East Africa, nature had the final word.
2019
Harry Hunt and Steve McPhee claimed victory in a Porsche 911. In fact, this classic car dominated the race with more than half of the field arriving in Porsche 911s. Among the finishers was veteran racer Jeff Zwart, fulfilling a dream decades in the making when he completed the rally he'd dreamed of doing since high school, calling it "probably the hardest event I've ever done."
2025
The countdown has begun. From 3–11 December 2027, competitors will discover what it takes to conquer some of the toughest terrain on earth – where every kilometre demands everything you have.
2027
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