In a display of exceptional class and speed, Italy’s Eugenio Amos catapulted his Porsche 911 today to the summit of the East African Safari Classic Rally leaderboard.
Amos now commands an impressive overnight lead of 3 minutes and 13 seconds, overshadowing South Africa’s Geoff Bell, whose Datsun 240Z struggled with overheating problems, relinquishing the top spot which he had a grip on for the last two days.
Defending champion and Kenya’s Baldev Chager in his Porsche 911
Showcased resilience, clawing back through today’s stages to secure third place overall 12.46 behind the leader.
After a tough start yesterday Chager was happy with hhis run today.
“Yesterday after losing time and getting lost I think the rest of the day went very well for us. Enjoyed today’s first stage though we had to stop to change a flat tire and then on to the second stage which we also enjoyed but was very rocky and literally had to drive on rocks. Going into third stage I was looking forward to it. Have rallied on it before but I wasn’t sure what to expect because we never know what happens to the roads after the rain.”
German Emile Breittmayer holds the fourth position, with Jordan Serderidis rounding out the top five.
Amos, navigated by Paolo Ceci, dominated today’s stages, clinching the first stage and finishing the last two in third and second place, respectively.
Kris Rosenberger and Nicola Bleicher in their Tuthill prepared Porsche 911, celebrated their inaugural stage win, triumphing over Patrick Perche by a minute to clinch the second stage.
Kenya’s Piers Daykin and Tariq Malik in a SteffaniRocca Datsun 280Z, claimed the third stage victory, outpacing Amos by 1 minute and 4 seconds.
The rally witnessed notable exits, including Saturday’s Prologue winner John Coyne, who withdrew after two days of action on medical grounds.
Coyne managed a commendable second-place finish in today’s first stage behind Amos.
Observing event regulations, a crew member replacement on medical grounds is permitted, leading to EoinTreacy stepping in as the co-driver for Josh McErlean Rallying for the remainder of the event.
Another notable exit was of the two immaculate Morgan Plus 8’s after experiencing a heavy beating during the previous two days and failing to start day 3 today.
Both cars despite tackling very unfamiliar road surfaces managed to complete day 1 and day 2 with Carlos Alessandro and PierrieArries finishing 57th, while Andrea Bonomi navigated by Kenyas Andrew Doig finishing 58th in the other Morgan.
In the battle of the classes, after today’s stages, Nish Lakhani in a Datsun 1600 SSS leads Class 1, while lone in his class Eric Bengiin an Opel Astra is in charge of Class 2. Rajesh Maini in a Ford Escort MK1 leads Class 3, Euginio Amos with a Porsche 911 leads Class 4 while Belgiums Bart Vanhaverbeke in a Mercedes 500 SLC leads Class 5
Day 4
Looking ahead, tomorrow’s day 4 challenges include a demanding trio of stages: the short but arduous 35km Kongoni to NgareEngare, followed by the daunting 58km Najile to Oltepesei—touted as this year’s toughest.
This stage holds historical significance as the site of rally legend Richard Burns’ retirement in the 2002 Safari Rally.
The day’s pinnacle will be the longest stage, Kamukuru to Hunters Look Out (93km), characterized by luggas and formidable rocks.
The climb to the stage’s flying finish promises to test the competitors’ mettle in this thrilling and unpredictable East African Safari Classic Rally.
ProvisionalResults after SS09 Parane – Top 15
1 Eugenio AMOS PORSCHE 911 06:17:55.2 06:17:55.2
2 Geoff BELL DATSUN 240Z 06:21:08.4 06:21:08.4 03:13.2
3 Baldev CHAGER PORSCHE 911 06:30:42.1 06:30:42.1 12:46.9
4 Emile BREITTMAYER PORSCHE 911 06:38:35.4 06:38:35.4 20:40.2
5 Jourdan SERDERIDIS PORSCHE 911 06:42:44.2 06:42:44.2 24:49.0
6 Bonamy GRIMES PORSCHE 911 06:43:32.4 06:43:32.4 25:37.2
7 Philip KADOORIE PORSCHE 911 06:48:28.2 06:48:28.2 30:33.0
8 Kris ROSENBERGER PORSCHE 911 06:49:39.9 06:49:39.9 31:44.7
9 Andrew SIDDALL DATSUN 240Z 06:51:39.0 06:51:39.0 33:43.8
10 Rajesh MAINI FORD MK1 06:59:41.1 06:59:41.1 41:45.9
11 Toby WRIGHT FORD MK1 07:06:30.0 07:06:30.0 48:34.8
12 Ian DUNCAN DATSUN 280Z 07:07:13.3 07:07:13.3 49:18.1
13 Mark BENTLEY FORD MK1 07:10:57.1 07:10:57.1 53:01.9
14 Patrice PERCHE PORSCHE 911 07:15:26.0 07:17:26.0 59:30.8
15 Anthony NIELSEN FORD MK2 07:17:51.5 07:17:51.5 59:56.3