Legendary rally driver Ian Duncan navigated by Amaar Slatch in a Ford Mustang start as the favourite crew in the Top Fry Classic Safari rally sponsored by Menengai Oil Refineries. The event is scheduled for the Easter weekend and Duncan is the reigning Kenya Rally champion.
The route will feature a distance of 1528km with a competitive distance of 1011km. Duncan’s track record includes winning East African Safari, and two victories in the recently introduced Classic Safari series.
The 2018 Top Fry Classic Safari rally will be flagged off by the Laikipia County Governor, Ndiritu Muriithi at 8am on Thursday at Sweetwaters in Nanyuki. The 37 car entry includes four drivers from Britain and the same number from South Africa, giving the event a strong international flavour.
Among the crews, who are likely to give Duncan strong opposition are the Kabras Sugar Racing team of Baldev Chager, Onkar Rai and Tejveer Rai who will all be tackling the challenging route in Porsche 911 cars—ideally suited for classic rallying. Also in strong contention will be the Top Fry racing duo of Frank Tundo and his son Carl in Triumph TR7 sports cars.
Having won the recent Safari Rally which counted towards the Kenya National Rally Championship, Carl and his navigator Tim Jessop will be hungry to register another victory.
The Triumph TR7 has been developed and modified to stand up to Kenya’s bumpy rutted roads and is very reliable. This was demonstrated by Carl’s first place in the 2017 Classic Safari. Another candidate for outright victory is South Africa-based Geoff Bell who will be navigated by Tim Challen in his 1971 Datsun 240Z. Geoff has gained great experience in the classic safaris over the years and has a string of top 10 places to his credit.
The five-day rally will finish at the Bogoria Hotel on April 2 and is reminiscent of the motoring adventure style events held in the days of the East Africa Safari in past years. This means that the weather conditions may produce surprises and heavy rain and mud will favour drivers who have the experience and skill of coping with slippery wet surfaces.
Source: The Star (Nairobi)