WRC Safari Rally 2021 preview: why we're excited for Kenya return

Zasada – who last took part in 1997 – is a direct link to the illustrious history of the rally, which dates back to 1953. It was originally called the East African Coronation Safari, to celebrate the new Queen Elizabeth II, who learned of her succession to the throne while on holiday at the Treetops Lodge near Nyeri (coincidentally less than 30 miles off the rally route this year).

And it’s this rich history that makes the Safari so special. The rally is all about extremes: not just extremes of weather – which can range from apocalyptic heat to torrential rain – but also jaw- dropping scenery.

The Safari is unquestionably the most photogenic rally in the world, with iconic images from the past recording the cars jumping to the backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro, while Masai tribesmen look on.

It was always the rally where crews interacted most with local life, as it used to be run on open roads – alongside normal traffic – over competitive sections that went on for hundreds of kilometres. Spotter helicopters were linked by radio to the cars to warn of hazards ahead (which might include a herd of elephants) and the terrain was almost unimaginably rough.

To cope with the conditions, teams used to build bespoke cars, with strengthened bodyshells, daytime running lights, and ‘snorkel’ exhausts for the many waterholes. Think of it as a cross between the Dakar and the Cannonball Run, and you more or less get the picture.

A huge part of the Safari’s appeal lay in the fact that it was fundamentally lawless – there’s even a popular legend that one well-known manufacturer cheated by swapping an entire car mid-route in the Group B era – but that’s also why it dropped off the WRC calendar. Essentially, the Safari had to change to accommodate modern-day sensibilities. And here we are today.

What we have now is something very different, mostly run through private plantations such as the Delamere Estate. However, the rally organisers – many of whom worked on the ‘old’ Safari – have still promised something in keeping with the spirit of the original: a definite car breaker, with some zebras in among the spectators for good measure. The Safari always used to be an event that you

won by going as slowly as possible, which will definitely be a brand new skill for the current generation of drivers, brought up on the flat-out sprints that characterise the modern WRC. Maybe Zasada stands a chance of winning after all?

Top five moments

The ‘unsinkable seven’ in 1963

Even by Safari standards, the 1963 event was exceptionally tough, with 84 cars tackling a 3,100-mile route. Only seven drivers got to the finish, known as the ‘unsinkable seven’: the lowest finishing rate ever seen in the sport, with the many reasons for retirement including a collision with an aardvark. In a quirk of history, there were only seven finishers in the 1968 event as well, with two of them (Nick Nowicki and Joginder Singh) having also formed part of the original ‘unsinkable seven’.

A busman’s holiday in 1972

Kenyans had always enjoyed a stranglehold on their home event. But the Europeans had been getting gradually quicker over this highly specialised terrain, until 1972 when Hannu Mikkola finally broke the deadlock in a Ford Escort. Runner-up, in a Porsche 911, was a certain Sobieslaw Zasada. His car was a borrowed leftover from Porsche’s factory team the previous year that had remained in Kenya: serviced by just one mechanic and a couple of Polish volunteers, who happened to be there on holiday.

A golden oldie in 1990

Bjorn Waldegard was 46 years and 155 days old when he sealed his 16th and final win, on the 1990 Safari Rally: setting a new record. After one of the most challenging events in Safari history – only 10 cars made the finish – Waldegard claimed victory by a full 38 minutes, despite his Toyota Celica chewing up so many water pumps that a man from the factory in Cologne had to get on a plane to Nairobi on Friday night, with a suitcase full of spares.

Keeping in focus in 1999