# Our History

> Nine days, 4,000 kilometres of fesh-fesh roads and choking dust — the East African Safari Classic Rally is like no other challenge on the planet.

- Site: [East African Safari Classic Rally](https://www.eastafricansafarirally.com)
- HTML: [https://www.eastafricansafarirally.com/our-history](https://www.eastafricansafarirally.com/our-history)
- Heritage since 1953; typical distance ~4,000 km over 9 days.

## Timeline

### 1953 — The beginnings

Where it all began

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.

### 1957 — The rally goes international

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.

### 1960 — The Safari Rally era

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.

### 1965 — The Flying Sikh

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".

### 1968 — The Unsinkable Seven

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.

### 1972 — The rally gains momentum

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.

### 1973 — Shekhar Mehta's first victory

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.

### 1996 — A new format

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.

### 2003 — The Classic returns

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.

### 2019 — A new generation of heroes

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.

### 2025 — The hardest challenge ever done

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."

### 2027 — The next chapter

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.