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Dec 30, 2011 19:08:26 GMT
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Great thread,
A Friend of mine used to race a 1600 sss during the early 70s in the Zambian rally, it sounded pretty hardcore from what he described.
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1985 Bedford CF2 camper 1991 Volvo 240 Turbo
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namless
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 577
Club RR Member Number: 26
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Dec 30, 2011 20:11:58 GMT
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ndugu! brilliant thread.. keep it going. miss watching the safari rally live
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Dec 30, 2011 23:42:37 GMT
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Waazziii!....Brilliant thread, AWESOME pictures and write up...keep it going ndugu!
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shahtz
Part of things
Posts: 241
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Dec 31, 2011 10:46:23 GMT
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thats an amazing story! what an experience - i wanna experience this one day ......err by just watching! i will volunteer to be navigator in Preets 610sss ;D if he's driving! (that way i can make sure there is one less 610sss in the UK!) what you say Preet?
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datsun 120y saloon 1978 datsun 120y estate 1975 datsun 180b 610 saloon 1973 datsun 160j sss A10 1980 datsun 180b 610 sss 1972 datsun 180b 610 sss 1973 datsun 180b 610 sss 1974 datsun 160j 710 sss 1973 datsun 240c 230 Cedric 1972 datsun b110 1200 coupe 1973 datsun 120y b210 coupe 1973 datsun 710 4 door hatch 1975 datsun b210 coupe 1973 datsun 710 sss coupe 1973 datsun 140z coupe 1973 datsun 510 sss 4door 1971
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hatari
Part of things
Posts: 24
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Dec 31, 2011 11:07:11 GMT
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Thanks everyone for your comments. Still 3 days to go.....
SHAHTZ - with the number of Datsuns you have you won't need Preets 610 - Just take the two you have ....one as spare ....you won't even need a service crew! lol
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Dec 31, 2011 15:13:48 GMT
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Pali- as usual great write up and excellent photos and I guess my words were probably ringing in your ears all the time " aim for top 20". Anyway glad you finished again 3 out of 3 and even more pleased that on this occasion you were in top 20. Keep it coming boy lets get the remaining instalments I am eager.. Would love to have followed it as we did in 2005. SHAHTZ - if you are that keen, forget about Preet's shiny Datsun or taking any shiny Datsun from your own fleet. The B110 that Pali used is for sale and with very liitle work it would be ready for the Safari Rally again and if you talk to the owner/ driver nicely, you may be able to twist is arm and persuade him to come along as a service crew " food for thought"
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Dec 31, 2011 18:00:57 GMT
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Now that looks like fun, wonder if I can enter what's left of the 'beetle'
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hatari
Part of things
Posts: 24
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fantastic write up and pics. id imagine doing something like that would be tough on people, not just the cars. looking forward to reading more of your adventure. Thanks for the Comments Guys. The Safari is an Event like nothing you have ever seen and when you actually take part in it you realise why it is called the Greatest and the toughest! It is a true test of Man and Machine. And when you get natures elements thrown into the mix it really puts you through the paces. This is Gerard Marcy - There is a Porsche behind there somewhere! I was in the gym months before the event and learnt there in no exercise that will actually prepare you for the Safari! lol ... it does help though! In 2009 the event was very dry. The dust was almost as bad as the mud! Have I mentioned dust?? This was 2009 In one stage you will get dusty tracks, mud, red soil and black cotton soil. Grass tracks and then suddenly open roads as good as those on Rally of Finland. It is unpredictable - At one time my driver was telling me 'I am sure you are lost!' Because the 'road' was strewn with rocks and boulders and we had to crawl over them. In the longest stage at one time we drove at 153kph and at other times we did kilometers of road at a walking pace. It is still hard to believe that the top boys average some serious speeds. The stage that we did in 16th fastest time (one of our faster stage times) we averaged 84kph (52mph) and the fastest boys averaged 110kph (68mph) over a 155km stage!! Day 7 coming up ......
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What an awesome writeup.
These pics do take me back to when I was a teenager in South Africa and watching many rally special stages on various farms etc.
Love the pics, they really do take me back.
Thanks for the reporting.
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Hi Pali, great read so far, l know l said l wanted to do a rally one day, but don't think its going to be this one, l would find one much easier to drive and enjoy. But sounds a fantastic experience, come on now lets complete it as don't know if you won yet !!!
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Jensen Interceptor II 1971
2005 Mercedes E320 CDI Estate 2007 Suzuki Hayabusa GSX 1300R Motorbike
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hatari
Part of things
Posts: 24
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DAY 7 - Saturday 26.11.2011 Naivasha - Naivasha (Via the Flourspar mines) 655.93kms - Competitive 262.45km
Most of the days started at 6am - today was no different. The rains the night before must have done some damage? The morning was cold. For Kenya 8 degrees C is as good as freezing! ... i wasn't complaining though. Leeds can get alot colder! The banter in the Parc Ferme was always about the day before and the torrential downpour had some of its own tales. " “When we saw the river coming towards us in the third section, we nearly turned back. It was something I have never seen before. But we gave it a go and made it. " "That was wild! The road turned into a river a few kilometres from the end of the third section." ...these are actual drivers quotes - i kid you not they are not exaggerations! And the rains had not stopped over night either. Stage 16 - 66.62kms - Was the first of the day, crossing over the Equator to get to the start of the stage. You could tell it was going to be a wet affair again .... and boy was it muddy! It was made worse as the mud was hiding the rocks. Again we caught up with the 180B who were well and truly stuck. In an attempt to pass them we hit a rock - giving us our very first puncture of the Rally!! and the last. Now that is luck. We had to stop and change as we still had 10Kms to go and the roadbook was showing some triple caution rocks and river crossings - so did not want to take any risks. Stage 17 - 116.30kms - CANCELLED! - As we got to the end of stage 16 the control gave new instructions and we were diverted to Lake Bogoria Hotel for a regroup the route opener doing stage 17 had still not come out of the stage which only ment that we could not go in. Reason - the over night rains had washed away part of the stage and the some of the mud holes were going to be impassable for the 2wd cars! Time for a hot cuppa at the hotel then! Stage 18 - 79.5kms- Was going to be run and we left the regroup after getting a restart time. The stage itself has a place called the Gods Bridge ..... a narrow man-made passage with thousand metre drops either side. But first we had to tackle the steep climb to the bridge after crossing a solid river bed .... its normally not a problem but this year the water was really flowing fast! We managed only after a little scare ... the one where for a moment you think the car is floating!! RIVER CROSSING AT Flourspar mines -MERC 450 SLC The under powered L18 gave us hell as we tried to climb to gods bridge. The track was narrow and muddy again with tow rope attached to front and afew hundred kenya shillings down got the locals to pull and push!! However at the front more drama was unfolding. Only a handfull of cars hand come through the stage as Problems hit the later crews on the section where an army truck slid sideways and blocked the route so that many had to be diverted. Those who were diverted and those who spent a long time getting around the truck were given notional times for the section. That included us PHEW ..saved by the bell! We headed back for Naivasha - it was nice to see tarmac again! Tomorrow we were going to face the penultimate day of the rally. Service was the usual 2 hours but befor that we stopped at a local fuel station to get rid of all the mud (pressure wash) that was glued to the car so that the boys would be able to work on the car.
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Nice write up Pali!. Good pics too. Safari always looks "Proper" when its muddy. Wish I was there...
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,984
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Great write up and a nice blast from the past. My family are from Dar Es Salaam and followed this rally back in the day of Joginder Singh and his brother. My brothers father in law was their mechanic back in the day. I love to hear the old stories.
I understand that the sikh boys are still rallying to this day over in Kisumu and around Kericho. There is a big gurudwara here if i recall correctly...?
Good stuff - it would be good to see if our families know each other. PM me if you are keen?
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Great story and pics!
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Click picture for more
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hatari
Part of things
Posts: 24
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Datsfun - with those Pics you can hijack the thread any time!! ;-)
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Jan 11, 2012 14:00:29 GMT
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This is brilliant! sasa I log in almost everyday to ree/read the next instalment and what is stopping you man! I hope the Rally hasn't slowed you down LOL... I know you are busy, can't wait to read the remainder of the post.
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hatari
Part of things
Posts: 24
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Jan 12, 2012 22:55:01 GMT
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Apologies for the sudden stop! DAY 8 instalment next!!! ;D
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hatari
Part of things
Posts: 24
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Jan 12, 2012 23:08:58 GMT
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Day 8 Sunday 27th November 2011 Distance 587km (Competitive - 187.8km) Naivasha to Voi Wildlife Lodge The penultimate day - After two stages being cancelled on day 7, it was strange that we actually wanted no more cancellations! The day consisted of 4 stages today but one of them was a spectator stage just outside Kenya's capital city Nairobi. Incidentally the rally is run on open roads so u never know what is going to be coming your way when you doing over 120kph .... scarey! Stage one - We drove from the base of the Rift Valley out on to the Ngong Hills - before we got to the spectator stage we had to deal with Nairobi's traffic! Then it was the Spectator stage in the township of Athi river - Stage 3 a long dash across the plains of Emali (Not a typo - it is E MA LI! ... i know you read it as email! ) Stage 4 of the day was a loop around the Sagala Hills and then the night halt at the Beautiful Voi Wildlife Safari Lodge, built on a watering hole where we got to see elephants, hippo and giraffee!! STAGE 19 - 50kms - This was the climb back up out of the Rift. Basically the last stage of day 6 in reverse. The water had dissappered leaving big Mudholes. We navigated around these - did not want any more dramas! The climb up was swift and fast - my Driver Sandhu had done this afew times in the local rallies. STAGE 20A - Super Special - Athi River Quarry - 2.57km - Once we had naviagted the Horrendous NAirobi traffic it was back to business. The organisers had laid out a specator stage in an old quarry. Something to give back to the fanatic followers of the Safari. The fastest guy around this was Gregoire De Mevius - a porsche ofcourse - 2mins 56 seconds! The atmosphere was simply amazing the crowds cheered the crews on and watched some spills! Top Boys waiting stage start another one ..... and another porsche!! Some Local Spectators NYAMA CHOMA!!!! local BBQ STAGE 20 - EMALI - a long 100km stage. Although pretty fast we took it easy afew heavy jumps and we bent the rear arm! And this was supposedly a slower pace! But not bad enough to stop us. STAGE 21 - SAGALA - a short 36km stage before the night halt. This proved to be more difficult than the longest of the day! Around 10kms in a massive mudhole had swallowed the Merc 450 SLC (pic above) The Mudcar pulling it out kept snapping the tow rope - (mental point for next safari Merc is too heavy for the safari!) We had to take a detour round this hole, the track eventually brought us back to the rally route but had cost us valuable time. We also made the mistake of letting a Ford pass us only to be stuck in thier dust ...well we thought he was fast but he had an over heating probleming as was slower than us! Oh well we were being gents! The last stage cost us heavily and we had dropped to 21st overall..... The end was near for a first time driver and a first time car this was a good result. But there was still one day to go and in the SAFARI IT IS NEVER OVER UNTIL U GET TO THE RAMP ....... tomorrow will see our fortune change ........
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Jan 14, 2012 18:37:20 GMT
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Epic !! great write up and pics as usual. The event must be take its toll on the car and crew, (+ support crew, staff ) ?
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