Sfter a long, challenging day rallying from Amboseli, Kenya through to Tanzania, Stig Blomqvist’s blue Porsche 911 was the first to arrive into the service park at Mto wa Mbu despite having to fix several punctures during today’s 415km of driving. He was followed on the road by Carl Tundo’s Triumph TR7 which bent its rear axle when it hit a couple of ditches. Tundo wound up in 5th place with a time of 131.05 and was one of four Kenyans in the top 10 leader board, that included other locals Cavanagh, and brothers Onkar and Tejveer Rai.
Lowering clouds and rain on the border heralded a possibly wet day of driving at this midpoint in the rally, but it quickly cleared leaving decent conditions and dry fast roads. “We put mud tyres on the car,” said Andrew Sidall in Car no 12, a Datsun 260Z who finished in 9th place with a time of 132.13. “We were at a disadvantage until we were able to change to standard ones in the final section.” They also broke a shock absorber early on in the second section.
For many it was was a tyre-chewing day. Car no 6 Richard Goransson’s Porsche lost time in the third stage with their puncture but still managed to retain second position just a minute behind his Team Tido compatriot Blomqvist. Geoff Bell’s Datsun 260Z, had to stop three times to change tyres, more in one day than he’s had to in his past two classic rally experiences. Alistair Cavanagh and Bernard Munster’s Porsches and Jonathan Savage’s Datsun also had punctures. But the biggest tyre trauma went to Richard Jackson in car 25, who scrubbed his back tyres down to the canvas in CS11 section.
A number of drivers struggled with navigation in the CS12, the final stage. Multiple tracks led to numerous errors. Car no 2 of de Mevius went some 3kms the wrong way, which cut into their time. “We crossed the river 50 metres from when we should and went the wrong direction for some time, which we are upset about, as on our return the marshal’s were directing people to the correct route. Being car 2 on the road meant we couldn’t’ follow tracks either, ” said de Mevius. They are in third position with a time of 131:16.
In other incidents Car 44 upended into a washaway ditch so severely they were unable to turn the steering to the right, using the handbrake to do so for the rest of the day. Car 8, Onkar Rai lost power in the second section, which affected their performance, but still earned them eighth place. Tundo Senior in car no 30 experienced a stunt-like mishap when his car almost went over a cliff on a hairpin bend in section 3, CS12. They were saved by a small tree and teetered precariously until they were pulled backwards back onto the road.
Perhaps one of the most unfortunate incidents was not driving related. Kenyan Raaji Bharij, a privateer who built and worked on this own Ford Escort had his wrist trapped between the door and the roll cage when an overly helpful spectator slammed the door of his car, trapping his arm. With a suspected fracture, his ability to continue in the rally hangs in the balance as it reaches the midway stage.