Italy’s Eugenio Amos claims lead on Day Three of the East African Safari Cla*sic Rally
In a display of exceptional class and speed, Italy’s Eugenio Amos catapulted his Porsche 911 yesterday to the summit of the East African Safari Classic Rally leaderboard after playing second fiddle in the opening rounds.
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 his run yesterday.
“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 Steffani Rocca 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 crewmember replacement on medical grounds is permitted, leading to Eoin Treacy 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 three yesterday.
Both cars despite tackling very unfamiliar road surfaces managed to complete day 1 and day 2 with Carlos Alessandro and Pierrie Arries finishing 57th, while Andrea Bonomi navigated by Kenyas Andrew Doig finishing 58th in the other Morgan.
Elsewhere, Handicap 16 golfer Samuel Nguguna carded 43 stableford points to win the centenary golf day at the Ruiru Sports Club this past weekend as the club marked 100 years of existence.
Peter Mwaura who plays off handicap 13 was crowned the division one men winner after returning an excellent score of 41 stableford points at the tournament that was graced by 232 golfers from Nairobi and its environs.
Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony, Samuel Njuguna said: “I am elated to be named the overall winner of this tournament at a time we are celebrating 100 years of existence and progressive excellence. I thank my four-ball for an amazing outing on the course and I cannot wait to brave the fairways in the competitions to come.”
In the division two category, Amos Mwaura who plays off handicap 25 returned 43 points to cruise to victory beating Philip Nguyai, handicap 28, who carded 42 points to emerge second.
Handicap 13 Lucy Njuguna clinched the division one lady winner award after returning 41 points to beat her closest challenger Grace Miano, handicap 17, who carded 40 stableford points to be named second in the highly contested category.
Vincent Musalia, handicap 39 returned 47 stableford points to win the guest winner award and was closely followed by handicap 35 Milkah Macharia who carded 42 stableford points to finish second.
