Sardinia was a blast, but next it’s on to probably the most anticipated rally of them all: the Safari. For a while, the World Rally Championship’s visit to Africa seemed in doubt, but now it’s going ahead from 24-27 June, with 58 crews entered.
The one we will be looking out for is #36, a Ford Fiesta Rally3. Its driver is Sobieslaw Zasada, who will smash the record for the oldest driver to start a WRC event – aged 91.
Yes, you read that correctly. Less than a decade from his 100th birthday, the three-time European champion is about to take on the toughest rally in the world. He has plenty of experience, having contested the Safari eight times before – including a second-place finish in 1972 at the wheel of a Porsche 911 S, behind Hannu Mikkola. His most recent entry was in 1997, when, already well into his 60s, he finished 12th in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III.
Zasada had actually planned to tackle the Safari last year, but Covid got in the way. And don’t think for a minute that he plans to just potter around.
“I’m really curious to say what rallies are like today, compared with the ones that I remember from half a century ago,” he says. “The Safari is my youth, and I still miss it – which is why I’m going back. I know I can do it, as I train a lot and I’m still in good physical condition.”
Although the Safari is more of a sprint than a marathon these days, nothing can trump experience. And while he’s surely not going to beat Björn WaldegÃ¥rd’s record of becoming the oldest overall WRC event winner (the Swede won the 1990 Safari aged 46), Zasada has a chance of becoming the oldest class winner by quite a margin, at almost exactly double WaldegÃ¥rd’s record age.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Good luck to him!, I'd like to be as fit as the photo of him.