Having survived endless electrical dramas and a rather too close brush with a civilian bus ‘Gogi’ Hardev Sira Singh and co-driver Denis Giraudet are left with just three stages and 176 competitive stage kilometres before they arrive back in Mombasa, Kenya some ten days after their rally began.
After holding onto a very strong top three class position early on disaster struck the Ti Motorsport run Ford Escort Mk 1 during the fourth day when an electrical gremlin halted the car for the day, incurring hefty penalties for the team! With the problem repaired for good during the rest day in Amboseli National Park, nestled in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, the team then set about making up the time deficit of almost five hours to their nearest rival!
Further disaster struck during day eight when a public bus overtook as Gogi was preparing to turn into a time control, doing extensive panel damage to the front of the Escort, but fortunately without damaging either crew or the suspension! The pair recovered from this shock to take nearly three hours out of their closest rival by the end of the day!
The Safari is not called the World’s Toughest Rally for no reason and this past week has proved it! Without the time loss due to the electrical issues we would have been in the mix for the class honours, but this is rallying and at least we are still going!
The incident with the bus was frightening and it is a miracle that neither of us was injured and that the car was still driveable! We have three great stages left before we get back to Mombasa!
After nine days and over 1600 competitive stage kilometres all that the crews face before the ceremonial finish in the seaside town of Mombasa are three stages totalling 176 kilometres, mainly through wildlife rich savanna just north of the coast.
For up to date information on the rally please visit www.eastafricansafarirally.com or www.siraracing.com
Photo credit: Geoff Mayes (www.geoffmayesmedia.com)
Similar Posts:
- Ti returns to tackle the world’s toughest rally
- A podium for Gogi as Ti survive the worlds toughest rally
- Ti survive tough opening tests on Classic Safari
Tags: day 9, ford escort rs, giraduet, gogi, grueling, hardev singh, historic, safari classic rally, ti motorsport, tough
