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Collin Matiza-Sports Editor
THE gods of the tough world of motor rally yesterday morning turned their backs on Zimbabwean navigator, Gareth Dawe, who crashed out of the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya.
Dawe and his Kenyan driver Tejveer Rai, in a Volkswagen Polo Gt, were involved in nasty accident at Chui Lodge.
The crash came during Stage Two of the four-day Safari Rally Kenya, which was flagged off by the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Thursday afternoon at Kasarani, on the northern outskirts of Nairobi.
Dawe is reported to be in a stable condition while Rai was airlifted to Nairobi after their speeding car hit a bump, and rolled several times, as the duo crashed out of the grueling competition at Chui Lodge.
Chui Lodge is situated in the heart of the Oserengoni Wildlife Sanctuary which is located in the central part of the Great Rift Valley, West of the Aberdare ranges and North East of the Mau escarpment.
It borders both Lake Naivasha and Lake Oloidien – the highest lakes along the floor of the rift Valley in Kenya.
Dawe is one of two Zimbabwean navigators who had entered this year’s Safari Rally Kenya which is back on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar after a 19-year absence.
Gregory Stead is the other Zimbabwean navigator in this tough motor rallying competition, and is doing the notes for another Kenyan driver, Dilraj Chatthe, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.
The Safari Rally returned to Kenya on Thursday with thousands of fans gathering in Nairobi for the landmark moment in Africa.
Notorious for its rough and rugged rushes across savannah and escarpment, the race fell off the world circuit in 2002 due to concerns over safety, organisation and finances.
But, on Thursday, thousands of motor rally supporters from across East Africa began arriving in the Kenyan capital from dawn, a full six hours before the competitors were flagged off by President Kenyatta.
The excitement was fitting for the return of a race predating Kenya’s independence, with roots in imperial adventurism when a group of British colonial farmers decided, in 1953, to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation by tearing up East Africa in a five-day, 6 000-kilometre rally.
This year’s edition is, however, tamer than its predecessors which covered a total of 1 010km.
The new format is closer to modern European rallies with 18 special stages totalling 320.19km.
The Safari Rally’s planned return last year was aborted because of the coronavirus pandemic which paused sporting events and saw Kenya block international arrivals, preventing foreign drivers from attending.
Many of the enthusiastic spectators, lining the city streets and waving flags, wore face masks.
At the opening 4.84km Super Special stage outside the Kasarani stadium, on Nairobi’s northern outskirts, locals, eager to catch a glimpse of the cars, spilled over onto the course causing several drivers to be stopped from racing.
World Rally Champion Frenchman Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia recorded the quickest time through the opening 4.84km Kasarani Super Special stage at Safari Rally Kenya on Thursday afternoon, according to reports from Nairobi.
The Toyota Yaris WRC driver stopped the clocks in 3min 21.5sec to open up a tiny advantage of three-tenths of a second over Finnish team-mate Kalle Rovanperä.
Welshman Elfyn Evans made it a Toyota 1-2-3 on the opener with Estonian Ott Tänak driving the first of the Hyundais in fourth place.
The Kenyan duo of Onkar Rai and Carl Tundo were given the privilege of opening the first WRC stage in 19 years and entertaining the crowds on the dusty Super Special where cars ran in pairs over two laps. Tundo was quickest in the first duel with a time of 3min 43.0sec.
But, the local drivers were no match for the World Rally Cars that followed and Rovanperä carded a stunning time of 3min 21.8sec on a stage where Dani Sordo lost some time in the dust and slipped down to 11th place.
Only Ogier was able to beat the Finn’s time on the opener, but the real meat of the action got underway when crews entered the bush and the great African unknown yesterday.
Online Reporter