DAY 01 EAST AFRICAN SAFARI RALLY CLASSIC 2022

Photo Above: Glen Edmunds and his navigator, Jiri Kotek, on Day 01 of the East African Safari Class Rally (EASCR) 2022

There was great excitement in the country, as the 10th Edition of the East African Safari Rally Classic got underway near Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley on 10th February.

Day 1 consisted of 3 stages with a total of 242km (150 miles) competitive with another 254km (158 miles) of liason roads. It put everyone through their paces before ending near Lake Nakuru.

Glen relayed messages on his Whats App group to followers during stage breaks and reported the following:

“Stage 3 Completed – very, very rough”
“One puncture at the end of the stage.”
“Big rocks being thrown up onto the lines so we have to be careful”

Things got very interesting when Glen lost his brakes going down the famous Fluorspar stage that included 16 hairpin turns! Only a well experienced driver would have been able to handle that (in my humble opinion!)

Glen’s comment: “No brakes going down the Fluorspar…hairyyyy!”

Where did they place?
Glen and his navigator, Jiri Kotek, finished 28 place overall on Day 01. That’s a very impressive result considering that Glen’s Skoda 130Ris the smallest car entered in the East African Safari rally. Not only is the car the smallest, but it also has much less power with only a 1400cc engine. All the other cars entered are much more powerful with engines of 1800cc to 3litres. They are in direct competition with numerous Porsche 911’s, Datsun 280z’s, Ford Escorts, plus others. 

Car No. 31 in for service at the end of Day 01.