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48th Sameer Safari Rally Kenya
Official Site: http://www.safarirally.co.ke/
24-27 February 2000
FIA Press Release
End of Leg 3 - Final
Sunday 27 February 2000
Subaru hit the jackpot in Kenya with a 1-2 finish headed by Richard Burns with Juha Kankkunen close behind. Today's stages were a repeat of Friday's first leg but happily they were run without the problems caused by animals and loose stones. The result was a remarkable result for the Englishman who, like Marcus Gronholm in Sweden earlier this month, took the lead on the second section and stayed in front to the finish. The World's Toughest Rally certainly lived up to its reputation with neither Mitsubishi nor Peugeot getting their official entries to the finish after mechanical failures. The FIA World Rally Championship now heads for two rallies in Europe with the positions in both the Manufacturers' and Drivers' Championships incredibly close.
Ford
Carlos Sainz had discovered a power steering problem on the run in to Safari Park last night but, despite his team's attempts, it could not be fixed at first service this morning. He gained time penalties for being late out of service compounded by an understandably slow time on the first section. When told that there was a physiotherapist waiting for the crew at the service park, co-driver Luis Moya replied: "Carlos doesn't need a physio. After that stage his arms are so thick he could tackle Mike Tyson!" Sainz spent most of the service time with his arms in a bucket of ice. Petter Solberg delayed his departure from service to stay behind his team mate on the road but still caught and passed the Spaniard before having to stop and change a puncture. He lost sixth gear on the next section so the gearbox was changed at service. "We'll be driving very cautiously from now on," he said. Colin McRae has been in the helicopter 'spotting' for Solberg.
Subaru
Richard Burns continued to control the speed of this event from the front and cruised to his first win of the season. It was Burns' second Safari Rally win in three years, repeating his first World Rally Championship victory in 1998. "Today's opening stage was tougher than when we did it on Friday but this time there were no animals to worry about," he said. His team mate Juha Kankkunen, who ensured that with this 1-2 win Subaru moves to the head of the Manufacturers points, agreed that the grip levels were higher than first time round. "This has been a fantastic team effort to score a maximum set of Manufacturers' and Drivers' points," said team manager John Spiller. Burns added: "It's been fantastic. I'm really grateful to Juha for not putting me under pressure so that I could go on to win." Kankkunen agreed: "I was really happy to help Richard. It's a fantastic result for the whole team."
SEAT
In a repeat of his first day performance Didier Auriol set the fastest time on the opening stage and, thanks to problems among the Ford drivers, found himself with a healthy cushion of time behind him. This was fortunate as he suffered from soft shock absorbers which punctured a tyre and broken steering problems on the second stage of the day. He gained some road penalties while the steering was fixed in service but remained well clear of the Ford. "We had problems in the dust from Kankkunen's car," he said earlier. "We came over a crest in fifth gear and hit a rock. We bounced off the road and narrowly missed some trees. It was quite a hairy moment." Auriol's record on the Safari Rally is impressive. He has now entered the event four times and has never finished out of the top four. Auriol was, aside from Burns, the only other driver to lead this event. This year's result for SEAT was a special moment for team manager Jaime Puig. It's his birthday today!
Skoda
The Czech team's first attempt at the Safari ended with both cars in the top eight and, with neither Solberg or Arai registered for points, both collected Manufacturers' Championship points. Armin Schwarz and Luis Climent decided from the outset to drive a steady event to ensure that the team gained as much experience of Africa as possible. Schwarz had shock absorber problems on the first stage today. "At times I could hardly see the road because of the vibration, admitted co-driver Manfred Hiemer. Climent had to stop and change a front puncture on the section but has otherwise had a trouble free run. Skoda's head of motorsport Pavel Janeba said: "This is Skoda's Safari Rally debut. We came here to collect as much experience and information as possible for a full programme in 2001 so to get both cars to the finish in the top 10 and for both to score Championship points is a great reward for everyone's hard work. The fact that both Armin and Luis have competed here before has been a great help to the team."
Other Teams
Toshihiro Arai completed his first Safari Rally with maximum points in the Teams Cup for the Spike Subaru Team, run by the Subaru Allstars operation at Prodrive. Today has not been easy, however, as he broke a front driveshaft and had to change the transmission at the first service. Group N proved to be a remarkable result for the Championship's newcomers, Claudio Menzi and Roberto Sanchez from Argentina with Manfred Stohl third. Menzi and Sanchez were tackling their first event of a 10-round programme this season. Sanchez was reprimanded by the Stewards for his part in the clash with Gilles Panizzi at the end of day one but no further action is to be taken.
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Provisional Final Results
1 Burns Subaru Impreza 8:33:13,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 8:37:50,0
3 Auriol Seat Cordoba 8:55:57,0
4 Sainz Ford Focus 9:01:31,0
5 Solberg Ford Focus 9:04:40,0
6 Arai Subaru Impreza 9:18:06,0
7 Schwarz Skoda Octavia 9:32:11,0
8 Climent Skoda Octavia 9:51:13,0
9 Menzi Mitsu Lancer 10:39:07,0
10 Sanchez Mitsu Lancer 10:57:05,0
Group N
1 Menzi Mitsu Lancer 10:39:07,0
2 Sanchez Subaru Impreza 10:57:05,0
3 Stohl Mitsu Lancer 11:02:53,0
Teams Cup
1 Arai (Spike Subaru Team) Subaru Impreza 9:18:06,0
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CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (unofficial positions after 3 of 14 rounds):
Makinen (FIN) 16
Burns (GB) 12
Kankkunen (FIN) 11
Gronholm (FIN) 10
Sainz (E) 9
McRae (GB) 4
Auriol (F) 4
Gardemeister (FIN) 3
Radstrom (S) 3
Thiry (B) 2
Solberg (N) 2
Loix (B) 1
Arai (J) 1
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (unofficial positions after 3 of 14 rounds):
Subaru 25
Mitsubishi 18
Ford 13
Peugeot 11
SEAT 7
Skoda 4
Hyundai 0
FIA Cup for Drivers of Production Cars (unofficial positions after 3 of 14 rounds):
Stohl (A) 17
Paasonen (FIN) 10
Menzi (RA) 10
Trelles (ROU) 6
Pykalisto (FIN) 6
Sanchez (RA) 6
Galli (I) 4
Walfridsson (S) 4
FIA Teams' Cup (unofficial positions after 3 of 14 rounds):
W. Turning Point Rally Team 10
Spike Subaru Team 10
Toyota Team Saudi 6
NEXT EVENT
March 16-19 2000, Oporto, Portugal :
TAP Rally of Portugal (P), round 4 of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championships.
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Stage Winners
CS9 - Auriol, CS10 - Burns, CS11 - Sainz, CS12 - Sainz
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CS9 Orien - Isinya 112.43 km 1st Car: 07:08
Notes:
- Buns: "The stage is tougher than before and no animals at all"
- Sainz: They have driven the first stage of the day without power steering. At the final service at Equator Park yesterday they replaced the steering rack on the car but it started leaking on the way back to Park Ferme. The team are ready to fix the problem at service after the stage "There is no plan to attack Didier now"
- Auriol: "We had problems with dust hanging in the air from Kankkunen's car. We came over a crest and suddenly there was dust andd we hit a rock in 5th gear and were bounced off the road narrowly missing some trees, it was very hairy"
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Auriol Seat Cordoba 47:54,0
2 Burns Subaru Impreza 48:54,0
3 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 49:37,0
4 Solberg Ford Focus 51:04,0
5 Arai Subaru Impreza 52:05,0
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CS10 Oltepesi - Olepolos 116.92 km 1st Car: 09:11
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Burns Subaru Impreza 56:11,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 56:43,0
3 Sainz Ford Focus 57:24,0
4 Solberg Ford Focus 58:41,0
5 Arai Subaru Impreza 59:08,0
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CS11 Olorian - Maili Tisa 71.40 km 1st Car: 11:42
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Sainz Ford Focus 34:48,0
2 Solberg Ford Focus 36:22,0
3 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 36:47,0
4 Auriol Seat Cordoba 37:26,0
5 Burns Subaru Impreza 37:30,0
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CS12 Kajiado - Olooloitikosh 50.09 km 1st Car: 12:25
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Sainz Ford Focus 23:18,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 24:25,0
3 Burns Subaru Impreza 25:15,0
4 Climent Skoda Octavia 25:52,0
5 Auriol Seat Cordoba 26:22,0
FIA Press Release
End of Leg 2
The longest day of the Safari Rally saw the action criss-crossing the Equator north of Nairobi close to Lake Baringo and Lake Naivasha and included the daunting Eldama Ravine section. Today's opening stage was the longest of the event and was also longer than many full days of a European-style round of the Championship. Richard Burns has continued to lead the rally although Carlos Sainz has been the man on a charge for most of the day with three fastest times. The stages today have generally been a little more benign than those of the first leg (very rough but without the loose rocks), but the drivers are well aware that tomorrow's final leg will be a repeat of yesterday's stages.
Subaru
Richard Burns and Juha Kankkunen both found that the early morning traffic was their biggest problem on the first section today, Burns encountering two "matatus" (local minibuses) running side by side and blocking the road on the Marigat section. The Subarus have both been driving carefully today and rivals have been able to set faster stage times. The Subarus are, however, maintaining the team's record of being the only ones not to have gained a single puncture on this year's event. Burns' car completed the third section of the day without problem but the water temperature soared while the crew took a break before the road section. "We're driving fast enough to maintain concentration but slow enough to stay out of trouble," said Burns who has led the rally since the second section.
Ford
Thanks to his time on the final section yesterday, young Norwegian Petter Solberg started today ahead of team mate Colin McRae. However, clever use of team tactics saw Solberg start the first section today behind McRae to let the Scot enjoy six minutes of clean air between himself and Didier Auriol's SEAT. "It was good tactics and I'm grateful for Petter's help," said McRae. "I still encountered dust from Didier after he got a puncture. He kept pulling over to let us past - it was difficult for him but he did his best to help." McRae later lost time with power steering failure but hung on to third place until the final stage of the day when the engine drowned out in a watersplash and the Scot could not restart it and was forced to retire. Carlos Sainz was delayed in the dust from two cars but still managed to set Michelin's first fastest time of the event - repeated on the next two sections. Solberg punctured but lost more time after being signalled to pull over by the Peugeot helicopter! He waited, assuming Gronholm was close behind, but it was two minutes before the Peugeot passed. Solberg was not happy and even less so later in the day when he broke a drive shaft and had to complete CS7 in three-wheel drive.
SEAT
Didier Auriol dropped a place on the first section today when he suffered a rear wheel puncture thanks to a bent wishbone that caused the car to weave on straight sections of the road. On the Eldama Ravine section Auriol discovered his shock absorbers were too hard for the sandy conditions and generally today the Frenchman has been unable to find a suspension setting entirely suited to his well-known sensitive style of driving. Nevertheless he was able to recover some of the time lost to McRae on the first section and thanks to the Scot's final stage drama ended the day as he began it in third. Of Eldama Ravine he said: " The road was very twisty and so physically this was the hardest section of the event so far. It took us 47 minutes to complete 68km and my arms are aching like hell!"
Peugeot
With Gilles Panizzi retiring from the rally after yesterday's final stage because of excessive damage to his car. His subsequent 'unsporting actions' against a fellow competitor later gained him a US$50,000 fine from the Stewards of the Meeting and a possible further reprimand from the FIA. Marcus Gronholm was the lone Peugeot runner. His day got off to a worrying start when the steering came loose on the opening, Marigat, section which cost him a place. He suffered from soft brakes and a failed handbrake on CS6, apparently due to overheating brakes but on the next stage suffered a repeat of his steering problem after half distance. An electrical problem brought him to a halt in the final section of the day and the Finn had to retire.
Skoda
A big truck delayed Armin Schwarz on the opening section today, along with a puncture, but otherwise the Skoda driver continues his steady drive for the Czech team. "It's still very strange that we could only do 100kph on the recce but now we are having to drive the road section at 180kph," he said on arrival at Equator Park after CS6. Luis Climent went off the road in the dust, breaking a suspension which then punctured a tyre. "Everything is fine and I'm just keeping to the same pace as I was at the end of yesterday," said the Valencia driver.
Mitsubishi
Freddy Loix began the day as the lone Mitsubishi factory driver but the Belgian might have been on the retirements list before he even began the first section. His Carisma GT refused to start at the beginning of the stage and an agonising length of time passed before he could get going. I arrived early so I stopped the car," he explained. "When I tried to restart the engine there was absolutely no power and we could see that the battery was flat. Sven and I had to push the car over some bumpy and rocky ground before we could find a hole deep enough to give us a chance to bump-start the car. It was just enough." Unconfirmed reports suggested that this could have been the same problem that forced Makinen out yesterday. In the end it was academic as Loix was forced to retire in CS7 when a shock absorber failed with 65 of the 93.51km section to go and it was deemed pointless to continue.
Other Teams
Toshihiro Arai's Safari debut continues to be one of the star drives of this event, the Japanese driver on course for a points finish in the FIA Teams Cup entry. His resilience was tested on CS7 when a strut punched through the top mount and also his gear lever sheared. "He did well to finish the stage at all," said co-driver Roger Freeman. "It was a bit of a battle." The Argentine drivers Claudio Menzi and Roberto Sanchez are right in the thick of the Group N battle with Championship contender Manfred Stohl holding third.
TOMORROW
Sunday 27 February
The third and final leg starts from Safari Park at 05h00 and covers 748.85km, including 350.84km on 4 competitive sections. The first car is expected on the finish podium at Safari Park at 16h00.
Weather forecast
Hot, sunny and dry
Provisional Results after Leg 1
1 Burns Subaru Impreza 5:45:23,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 5:50:18,0
3 Auriol Seat Cordoba 6:00:58,0
4 Sainz Ford Focus 6:06:42,0
5 Solberg Ford Focus 6:10:18,0
6 Arai Subaru Impreza 6:18:36,0
7 Schwarz Skoda Octavia 6:27:38,0
8 Climent Skoda Octavia 6:44:55,0
9 Menzi Mitsu Lancer 7:09:55,0
10 Sanchez Mitsu Lancer 7:20:25,0
Group N
1 Menzi Mitsu Lancer 7:09:55,0
2 Sanchez Subaru Impreza 7:20:25,0
3 Stohl Mitsu Lancer 7:29:06,0
Teams Cup
1 Arai (Spike Subaru Team) Subaru Impreza 6:18:36,0
Stage Winners
CS5 - Burns, CS6 - Sainz, CS7 - Sainz, CS8 - Sainz
CS5 Marigat - Gari Ya Moshi 123.21 km 1st Car: 07:45
Notes:
- Loix: Engine wouldn't start at the stage start and lost some 8 minutes in penalties (48 minutes late) before he could actually start the stage
- Burns: Commented that the worst part of the stage was the road section where the traffic was very bad. His worst moment was when he came across two mutatu's (local buses) taking up the whole road. They carried two spare tyres for the stage.
- Kankkunen: Confirmed that the traffic was bad, but said they were going steady
- Auriol: Had a puncture and stopped to change it and consequently backed off because the car was not stable in a straight line
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Burns Subaru Impreza 1:00:04,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 1:00:41,0
3 McRae Ford Focus 1:00:59,0
4 Sainz Ford Focus 1:01:09,0
5 Arai Subaru Impreza 1:02:33,0
CS6 Nyaru - Kimngorom 68.64 km 1st Car: 10:13
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Sainz Ford Focus 46:15,0
2 McRae Ford Focus 46:29,0
3 Solberg Ford Focus 47:01,0
4 Auriol Seat Cordoba 47:13,0
5 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 47:22,0
CS7 Morendat - Mbaruk 93.81 km 1st Car: 13:38
Notes:
- Loix: Has retired on stage with mechanical problems; the car is stopped on the stage and the crew have been picked up by the team helicopter
- Burns: Is reported to have mechanical problems at the end of this stage. Possible electrical or fuel problems which they appear to have fix in order to get to service at Equator Park
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Sainz Ford Focus 46:03,0
2 Burns Subaru Impreza 47:47,0
3 Auriol Seat Cordoba 48:05,0
4 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 48:45,0
5 McRae Ford Focus 48:56,0
CS8 Marigat - Mogotio 73.66 km 1st Car: 16:08
Notes:
- McRae: Stopped on stage going through an artificially raised water splash; has not managed to get the engine re-started and has retired
- Gronholm: Going slowly through the stage apparently with clutch problems; has finally stopped on the stage and retired
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Sainz Ford Focus 27:55,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 28:44,0
3 Auriol Seat Cordoba 29:04,0
4 Solberg Ford Focus 29:28,0
5 Burns Subaru Impreza 29:33,0
FIA Press Release
End of Leg 1
The unique nature of the Safari Rally was underlined as early as the first competitive section when several crews reported that they had been forced to slow to avoid animals in the road. However it has been how teams have coped with punctures that has determined who has been successful today although the rough roads have also spelled the end for three of the top drivers.
Peugeot
The Peugeot team admitted before the start that the first Safari Rally for the 206WRC would be a steep learning curve. This proved to be the case immediately as Marcus Gronholm suffered two punctures on the opening competitive section and Gilles Panizzi was even more badly delayed when he spun and damaged the rear of his car. The Swedish Rally winning team have been unable to replicate the form shown two weeks ago but this was to be expected on their first visit to Africa in over a decade.
Mitsubishi
Tommi Makinen completed the first competitive section in second place despite having to twice stop to let cows cross the road. "We had to stop completely at one point," he admitted. Unfortunately he became the event's first retirement after collecting three punctures and damaging his rear suspension. He completed the second section but withdrew afterwards when his battery went flat at the finish control. Team mate Freddy Loix was forced to stop and change a puncture just after half distance but was more concerned about driving cleanly. He felt his shock absorbers had gone soft towards the end of the section but these were changed routinely at service.
Ford
Colin McRae's event got off to a slow start when he had to slow and avoid donkeys in the road. He suffered several punctures and declared: The tyres are overheating. I don't think it's going to get any better." Carlos Sainz also admitted that he had been forced to slow by animals. Unfortunately they were nothing exotic like giraffes or lions," laughed Sainz. "They were just cows, goats and dogs." He suffered shock absorber failures in CS3 and when he had to solve the problem between the stages, this cost him 2m50s of penalties. Petter Solberg found himself tied with Tommi Makinen at the team's mid-stage timing point on CS1 but he was then twice delayed by slower cars and a truck before damaging his own rear suspension.
Subaru
Juha Kankkunen hit a cow on the opening competitive section and was forced off the road in the incident. Afterwards he felt that the Subaru wasn't handling so well but it was fine after service although he lost time on CS2 driving 40km in Sainz's dust. Richard Burns took the lead with fastest time on CS2 and was having to concentrate on finding the right pace. "I know I could drive faster," he said, "but to do so would increase the risk of doing serious damage to the car." He had a scare when there was a bang under the car while he was overtaking an army truck. I hoped it wasn't the diff," he said.
SEAT
First blood to SEAT! Didier Auriol set the first fastest time of the event despite slowing for the last 10km with a wheel vibration. "I'm feeling quite confident," he said. "We have been reaching speeds of 206kph which is a good speed on these roads." Unfortunately on the second he then had to stop and change a broken rear wheel after hitting a rock and puncturing the tyre. Team mate Toni Gardemeister started well but slipped down the order after going off and damaging the door so badly that he had to remove it. Co-driver Paavo Lukander was feeling the after- effects of the testing accident and when the pair suffered another heavy landing on CS2 the team withdrew the young Finns.
Skoda
Armin Schwarz stuck to his plan to take things easy at first and completed the first pair of tests with no major problems. He spotted parts of Panizzi's Peugeot in the road on CS1 and later passed the stricken car stopped at the roadside. A broken rear suspension bolt caused problems for Luis Climent on the opening section, leading to both a puncture and rear wing damage. The Valencia driver later reported a slipping clutch and a possible front differential problem.
Other Teams
Toshihiro Arai has proved to be the quickest driver in the FIA Teams Cup entries and although he suffered a puncture that cost him time on the final stage he has been running in the middle of the top 10 for most of the day.
Tomorrow (Saturday 26 February), Leg 2 starts from Safari Park at 04h45 and covers 1193.03km, including 359.02km on 4 competitive sections. The first car is expected to return to Safari Park at 20h00.
Weather forecast
Dry, sunny and hot
Provisional Results after Leg 1
1 Burns Subaru Impreza 2:41,22,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 2:44:46,0
3 Auriol Seat Cordoba 2:47:59,0
4 Solberg Ford Focus 2:53:39,0
5 McRae Ford Focus 2:55:04,0
6 Arai Subaru Impreza 2:57:36,0
7 Loix Mitsu Lancer 3:00:40,0
8 Gronholm Peugeot 206 3:01:35,0
9 Schwarz Skosa Octavia 3:05:02,0
10 Sainz Ford Focus 3:05:15,0
Group N
1 Menzi Mitsu Lancer 3:21:43,0
2 Sanchez Subaru Impreza 3:28:16,0
3 Stohl Mitsu Lancer 3:28:31,0
Teams Cup
1 Arai (Spike Subaru Team) Subaru Impreza 2:57:36,0
Stage Winners
CS1 - Auriol, CS2 - Burns, CS3 - Burns, CS4 - Burns
CS 1 Orien - Isinya 112.43 km 1st Car: 11:28
Notes
- Makinen: Forced to stop twice due to cows on the road; arrived at the finish with a dented door
- Kankkunen: Damaged front right corner due to hitting a cow. It caused them to swerve off the road into the grass.
- McRae: Delayed at the start of the stage due to donkeys on the road. Had front right puncture after 75km
- Sainz: Had to drive slowly because of animals
- Auriol: "We took it cautiously for the last 10kms" - due to vibration which is thought to be due to a tyre bulge
- Gardemeister: After their accident in testing the co-driver was reported to be feeling "very stiff and sore and that it was getting worse during the stage"
- Gronholm: Had two punctures on the stage which they changed.
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Auriol Seat Cordoba 47:13,0
2 Makinen Mitsu Lancer 47:27,0
3 Burns Subaru Impreza 47:28,0
4 Sainz Ford Focus 48:44,0
5 Gardemeister Seat Cordboa 49:07,0
CS 2 Oltepesi - Olepolos 116.92 km 1st Car: 13:31
Notes
- Makinen: Retired after the end of the stage. The car had a broken rear end and had suffered three punctures on the stage
- Burns: Heard a heavy bang under the car when overtaqking an Army truck travelling in the same direction. There is some damage but they are hopeful that it is not the differential
- Kankkunen: No technical problems but had to drive for 40kms in the dust of Carlos Sainz
- McRae: Broke suspension bolt on the road section after the stage and had to stop to repair it. They then then suffered a puncture and had to drive on the rim for the rest of the section.
- Auriol: Had a puncture to the rear left tyre after 25 kms because of a broken rear shock absorber
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Burns Subaru Impreza 54:06,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru impreza 55:04,0
3 McRae Ford Focus 57:32,0
4 Auriol Seat Cordoba 57:38,0
5 Arai Subaru Impreza 57:53,0
CS 3 Olorian - Maili Tisa 71.40 km 1st Car: 15:57
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Burns Subaru Impreza 35:04,0
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 35:39,0
3 Auriol Seat Cordoba 35:39,0
4 McRae Ford Focus 36:03,0
5 Gronholm Peugeot 206 36:15,0
CS 4 Kajiado - Olooloitikosh 50.09 km 1st Car: 16:40
Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time
1 Burns Subaru Impreza 23:44,0
2 Solberg Ford Focus 23:58,0
3 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 24:11,0
3 Gronholm Peugeot 206 24:11,0
5 Loix Mitsu Lancer 24:21,0
Event Itinerary
Kenya is GMT +3
Leg 1 - Friday 25th February
09:00 Start from Nairobi
11:28 CS 1 Orien - Isinya 112.43 km
13:31 CS 2 Oltepesi - Olepolos 116.92 km
15:57 CS 3 Olorian - Maili Tisa 71.40 km
16:40 CS 4 Kajiado - Olooloitikosh 50.09 km
19:45 End of leg 1 in Nairobi
Leg 2 - Saturday 26 February
04:45 Start from Nairobi
07:45 CS 5 Marigat - Gari Ya Moshi 123.21 km
10:13 CS 6 Nyaru - Kimngorom 68.64 km
13:38 CS 7 Morendat - Mbaruk 93.81 km
16:08 CS 8 Marigat - Mogotio 73.66 km
20:45 End of leg 2 in Nairobi
Leg 3 - Sunday 27 February
05:00 Start from Nairobi
07:08 CS 9 Orien - Isinya 112.43 km
09:11 CS 10 Oltepesi - Olepolos 116.92 km
11:42 CS 11 Olorian - Maili Tisa 71.40 km
12:25 CS 12 Kajiado - Olooloitikosh 50.09 km
16:00 Finish of the rally in Nairobi
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Competitive Section descriptions: (from the official website)
CS 1 & CS 9 Orien - Isinya 112.43 km, 147 kph Av
This section was run in reverse last year.A long tough section to catch the unwary out. Starts along twisty tight roads through some scenic dry river drifts emerging on to plains. Passing through a quarry in the end.
CS 2 & CS 10 Oltepesi - Olepolos 116.92 km, 132 kph Av
Starts of pretty smooth with spactaculaer jumps at 10 kms. Then we have some wash aways and dry river crossings.Climbing up the hills through some rockery and then a short run at the top with some blind ditches. Then down back into the valley through a series of hairpin bends very rutted and rough. Finnaly Very very fast section with huge wash-aways 2km before the finish.
CS 3 & CS 11 Hunters Lookout - Maili Tisa 71.40 kms, 128 kph Av
A very loose and rough begining with very deep rocky river crossings. Kenneth Ericksson hit a rock at 130kph in the 97 Safari in this section. It then soomthens out into fast twisty roads crossing a large sandy river. The last ten KMS have been washed away and will now come out thorough a new fast wide road with the best jump of the rally at the end. An extremely tough section in with a bit of everything to test the drivers and cars.
CS 4 & CS 12 Kajiado - Olooloitikosh 50.09 kms, 140 kph Av
This section was run in reverse last year.The ascent is from Kajiado along a rutted road running up to the radio mast high up on the hills. It is a fairly straight forward section compared to the others and the shortest in the Rally. The last few KMs are unused and is rough and twisty with ditches and ruts quite rough prone to punctures. This section was where Loix had his spectacular crash on a blind III caution dip.
CS 5 & 8 Marigat to Gari La Moshi / MOGOTIO
CS 5: 123 kms, 129 kph Av
CS 8: 73.66 kms, 141 kph Av
99 Safari's longest section is a mix of last year and starts of with a dash over some dry river crossings and some of the most remotest areas of Kenya along the bottom of the Liakipia escarpment the eastern wall of the great rift valley. For the first loop the cars turn upwards before the sisals farm of Mogotio, and goes along the escarpment before coming down through the sisal farms again into the end.The second time the turn down wards into the sisal farms directly. Shorter by 50kms. The route is a mixture of rocky rough into smooth fairly fast parts then the rutted and ditchy farms roads to the end.
CS 6 Nyaru to Kimngorom 68.64 kms, 89.5 kph Av
Definitely the most scenic part of the rally and the most twisty reflected in the slowest average speed of all. The stage is centered along the end of the Cherangani hills themselves the western part of the Rift and connect to the Mau as they go Southwards. First an ascent from the bottom of the rift valley to the top in a transport section. Then follows a descent from 9000ft along 11 absolute hairpins on narrow roads enough to make you dizzy!! With spectacular views of the Tugen Hills and the farm lands below. After passing through a narrow 200m stretch of road with steep drops on both sides the road narrows through dense forests and tight bends.The route then diverts into a new 8 Km drop back into the bottom of the rift valley. Very steep drop with hairpin bends.
CS 7 Morendat to Mbaruk 93.81 kms, 124 kph Av
For the penultimate section of the day, part of the 1998 route has been used in addtion to smooth "closed road" rallying for about 53 kms on private ranch lands. Starts off through some really rocky and rough stuff with trecherous ruts now worse then 1999, and then onto the ranch roads with tight turns through narrow gates and blind hairpins a real navigators nightmare.
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Entry List
1 T.Makinen/R. Mannisenmaki FIN Mitsu Lancer Evo A/8
2 F.Loix/S.Smeets B Mitsu Carisma GT A/8
3 R.Burns/R.Reid GB Subaru Impreza A/8
4 J.Kankkunen/J.Repo FIN Subaru Impreza A/8
5 C.McRae/N.Grist GB Ford Focus A/8
6 C.Sainz/L.Moya E Ford Focus A/8
7 D.Auriol/D.Giraudet F Seat Cordoba A/8
8 T.Gardemeister/P.Lukander FIN Seat Cordoba A/8
9 M.Gronholm/T.Rautiainen FIN Peugeot 206 A/8
10 G.Panizzi/H.Panizzi F Peugeot 206 A/8
11 A.Schwarz/M.Hiemer D Skoda Octavia A/8
12 L.Climent/A.Romani E Skoda Octavia A/8
16 P.Solberg/P.Mills N/GB Ford Focus A/8
17 T.Arai/R.Freeman J/GB Subaru Impreza A/8
18 F.Dor/D.Breton F/F Subaru Impreza A/8
19 M.Stohl/P.Muller A Mitsu Carisma GT N/4
20 S.Konishi/G.Macneall J/AUS Subaru Impreza N/4
21 A.Cavenagh/C. Sasoon EAK Subaru Impreza N/4
22 R.Sanchez/J.del Buono RA Subaru Impreza N/4
23 R.Green/O.Taylor EAK Subaru Impreza N/4
24 P.Bailey/R. Sehmi EAK Toyota Celica A/8
25 R. Tuthill/P. Stone GB/EAK Subaru Impreza N/4
26 J.Toroitich/M.Saleh EAK Toyota Celica A/8
27 A.Anwar/F.Yusuf EAK Mitsu Lancer N/4
28 R.Hellier/D.Page-Morris EAK Mitsu Lancer A/8
29 J.Lloyd/A.Cavanagh EAK Mitsu Lancer A/8
30 L.Rose/P.Daykin EAK Subaru Impreza N/4
31 C.Menzi/E. Galindo RA Mitsu Lancer N/4
32 S.Mazlan/A.Oh MAL Subaru Impreza N/4
33 R.Stohl/I.Petrasko A Mitsu Carisma GT N/4
35 P.Kimathi/A.Sidi EAK Subaru Impreza A/8
37 G.Pozzo/R.Ortiz RA Mitsu Lancer N/4
41 J.Ngunjiri/T.Karanja EAK Mitsu Lancer N/4
55 S.Essajee/S.Singh EAK Mitsu Lancer N/4
Also entered are a number of T1 class cars which are Safari cross country vehicles and Class S which are production series vehicles. Neither are eligble for FIA World Rally Championship classfications and run behind the rest of the field.
FIA Press Release Thursday 24 February 2000
After the cold, icy roads of Sweden the FIA World Championship has decamped south to Kenya for the Sameer Safari Rally. The toughest event of the entire 14-round Championship places extreme demands on cars and drivers with some individual competitive sections as long as an entire day on 'European-style' events. Because of the length of the competitive sections and the intense heat, this is the one event of the season where the tyre companies will not always use the anti-deflation mousse inserts that are now commonplace in rallying. Such systems are expected to be used only on the shorter and slower sections. Recent years have seen the event shortened to come into line with the modern cloverleaf format. It may no longer be fought out across all the countries of East Africa, but it remains one of the great motorsport challenges to conquer this famous event.
Mitsubishi
World Champion Tommi Makinen completed yesterday's shakedown runs at Whistling Thorns and declared himself ready to take on the Safari Rally. After a four-day test session last week Makinen said of his Lancer Evolution: It now handles like a European gravel car rather than a specific Safari car and I'm confident we can drive it hard. The overall performance is higher than last year and our top speeds will exceed 200kph. After the recce Makinen declared the roads to be smoother than in previous years and predicted a very fast event. Team mate Freddy Loix knows only too well that there are many unexpected things that can happen on this event (he crashed last year and was forced to miss the next event while recovering). I'm not making any predictions! he joked yesterday.
Peugeot
Peugeot comes to Kenya direct from its dominant victory in Sweden but the French team knows that Kenya provides an even tougher challenge. It is completely unknown territory for us, said team director Corrado Provera. Peugeot has not had time to carry out specific testing for the event with its 206WRC but has turned to experience gained on the Paris-Dakar event and has carried out simulation runs in Senegal and at high altitude in Spain. I cannot see us being in the hunt for victory as we were in Sweden, admitted Provera. Our target is to reach the finish and, if possible, gain some points.
Ford
Ford arrived in Kenya full of confidence. Winners of this event last year, Colin McRae also ended a run of non-finishes with third place in Sweden and believes he can repeat last year's result. "The team is in high spirits after Sweden, we know the car is strong enough for Africa and I see no reason why we can't win again," he said. His team mate Carlos Sainz admits that success on the Safari comes as much from a mental attitude as from driving skill. "It's hard to judge the right speed when you are used to driving as fast as possible all the time You always think that someone will be driving harder than you so you must adapt to the limits of the car and the tyres." Ford has entered a third car in Africa for Petter Solberg, the young Norwegian who was a late replacement last year for the injured Thomas Radstrom. "Last year was a dream for me (he finished fifth) and I think I learned more in those three days than in my entire career," he said.
Subaru
Subaru believes it has the right to be declared favourites for victory on this year's Safari Rally. The team won the event in 1997 with Colin McRae driving, Richard Burns won (for Mitsubishi) in 1998 and was leading for Subaru last year before being sidelined with suspension problems. Team mate Juha Kankkunen is a three-time Safari winner, including victory on his first attempt in 1985. "This event is something special," said the Finn. "I know I've got a good chance this year to make it four Safari wins."Burns agrees: "It's an incredible event and one that will always be special because my win in 1998 was my first World rally victory. I was unlucky last year but I'm full of confidence that I can win again."
SEAT
SEAT survived a major scare two days before the start of the Safari after Toni Gardemeister crashed the Cordoba WRC in testing. The car landed heavily on its nose and it took the mechanics all night to repair the damage and fit a new engine. Co-driver Paavo Lukander injured his neck in the accident and was flown to hospital for a precautionary check. Happily there was no serious in jury and following another check up by the team doctor this morning, he was passed fit to compete on his first Safari. Didier Auriol has competed three times on the Safari but this will be his first one in a SEAT. "I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I have always had a good result in Kenya so, if we look after the car then perhaps I can continue this trend. It's a strong car so I hope it's a rough event to make full use of it."
Skoda
Skoda has a long tradition of motorsport success but has never before contested the Safari Rally. We are going to Africa to learn," insisted team manager Pavel Janeba. "It's a unique technical challenge and, although the Octavia proved strong in Greece last year, this will be a far tougher trial of strength." The team has brought in former Toyota engineer Karl-Heinz Goldstein to oversee Skoda's African adventure and hopefully bring the kind of success he had over many years with the former African Kings. "Those who have confidence in the strength of their cars will go flat out from the start," said driver Armin Schwarz. Unfortunately we can't afford to be so bold but if we don't suffer major problems then we could finish in the top six and get Championship points for the third event in a row." Team mate Luis Climent has taken a top 10 finish here for the past two years and won Group N in 1998. It's his first Safari for Skoda but he believes his past experience will allow him to finish well again.
Hyundai
Hyundai joined the Championship in Sweden at the start of a 12-round programme this year. The team has elected to miss the Monte Carlo and Safari rallies and is therefore absent from Kenya this week. Team driver Alister McRae did, however, complete the recce for this event to gain experience for future Safari rallies.
Other Teams
FIA Teams Cup entries in Kenya comprise a pair of Subarus from the Allstars team that leads the series after Sweden. Frederic Dor has twice scored top 10 finishes in Kenya and will be joined by promising Japanese driver Toshihiro Arai. Group N front runners are expected to be Manfred Stohl and Shigeyuki Konishi. However this event sees the first appearance of two Mitsubishis, driven by Claudio Menzi and Gabriel Pozzo, backed by the Governor of Cordoba province in Argentina and a third for Roberto Sanchez supported by the Governor of Tucuman province.
STATISTICS
The 48th Safari Rally is the third of 14 events in the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers and Manufacturers.
Entries: 55 (27 Group A + 28 Group N)
Nations (first drivers): Argentina 3, Austria 3, Belgium 1, Finland 4, France 3, Germany 2, Great Britain 7, Japan 3, Kenya 23, Malaysia 1, Norway 1, Spain 2, UAE 1, Zimbabwe 1.
Cars: Ford 4, Honda 1, Hyundai 3, Mitsubishi 11, Nissan 1, Peugeot 3, Rover 2, SEAT 2, Skoda 2, Subaru 21, Toyota 3, VW 2.
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunny and dry
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