Chager clinches 10th edition of Classic Rally

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 18 – Multiple Kenya National Rally Championship winner Baldev Chager in his Kabras-sponsored Porsche 911 won the 10th edition of the East African Safari Classic Rally with an incredible time difference of 07:43.9.  

Chager, who maintained a strong lead from day two of the itinerary was the favorite to clinch the title despite not winning any stage throughout the competition.

The new champion said relying on his co-driver, Drew Sturrock helped him stay steady and ensured the consistency they required to win this year’s trophy.

“It was a matter of judging each day as you see it and clicking together as a team that pushed us to victory”, the Chager said.

The Swedish national Patrick Sandell in his Porsche 911, overhauled the Kenyan legend Ian Duncan in his Rover Vitesse to take the second position with a cumulative total of 16:47:54.5, pushing the Kenyan rally icon to third position with a total cumulative time of 16:52:49.3.

Kenyan drivers however, still dominated the top five positions with another rally star Lee Rose in his Ford Escort RS 1800 clinching the fourth position, while Piers Daykin in his Datsun 240Z summed the top five. 

The remainder of the top ten were Philip Kadoorie, Kris Rosenberger, Joost Van Cawenberge, David Danglard and Federico Polese, in their Tuthill Porsches.

Glen Edmunds of Kenya won Class CL1 navigated by Czech Republic’s Jiri Kotek in a Skoda 130LR/S.

Former Kenya Champion Lee Rose in a Ford Escort RS 180 won the CL Class.

The day started off at Chamaka in Kilifi County and finished at Arabuko covering a distance of 128.19km. 

The 10th edition of the East African Safari Classic Rally was sponsored by Victoria Commercial Bank, Standard Group, A&K, Safaricom, NTT Dimension Data, Kenya Tourist Board, Aquamist, Vivo Energy and East African Breweries Limited.

Provisional Classification

East African Safari Classic Rally

1 Baldev Chager(KEN) / Drew Sturrock (Porsche 911)

16:40:11.1 0

2 Patrik Sandell(SWE) / Henrik Bolinder(SWE)  Porsche 911 16:47:54.9

3 Ian Duncan(KEN) / Anthony Neilsen(KEN) Rover Vitesse 16:52:49.6

4 Lee Rose(KEN) / Douglas McNeil(KEN)

Ford Escort RS 180- 17:12:12.5

5 Philip Kadoorie(HKG) / Ryan Champion(GBR)  Porsche 911

17:18:27.5

6 Kris Rosenberger(AUT) / Nicola Bleicher(DEU CL3 Porsche 911-

17:26:36.4

7 Joost Van Cauwenberge(BEL) / Jacques Caste CL3 Porsche 911-

17:33:30.7

8 Piers Daykin(KEN) / Pierre Arries(ZAF)

Datsun 240Z 17:39:06.6

9 David Danglard(USA) / Gavin Laurence(KEN) CL3 Tuthill Porsche 0 0 0

Porsche 911 -17.58.24.1

10 Federico Polese(ITA) / Nicolas Arena(ITA) CL3 Tuthill Porsche 0 0 0

Porsche 911 -18:03:07.3