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1973 Safari Rally


FieldValue
name1973 Safari Rally
native_name21st East Africa Safari Rally
country
round4
rallybaseNairobi, Kenya
previous_round1973 Rallye de Portugal
next_round1973 Rally of Morocco
startdateApril 19, 1973
enddateApril 23, 1973
stagekm5300
overallkm5300
overallkm_note(with 56 points of "time control")
surfaceGravel
championship1973 World Rally Championship season
driver1Kenya Shekhar Mehta
Kenya Lofty Drews
team1Japan Datsun
car1Datsun 240Z
teamsstart89
teamsfinish18

Kenya Lofty Drews

The 1973 Safari Rally (formally the 21st East Africa Safari Rally) was the fourth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-April in central Kenya, the Safari was a markedly different rally from the other dates on the WRC schedule. About 5,300 km of gravel roads comprised the course, though there were not distinct special stages as in other rallies, but instead the course was uncontrolled. The rally was considered very punishing, and thus many of the successful teams were specifically focused on it, leading to a different set of front-runners than led most other rallies. The rally was won by a local driver, Shekhar Mehta.

Report

In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. Like the drivers, the cars were different for Africa than for other rallies. As a result, the successful types did not mirror the results of other rallies on the circuit, and Datsun and Peugeot both made strong showings. Additionally, cars were not broken into separate groups or classes as in other rallies, so only overall results were classified. Time was not measured as the total elapsed through special stages as with other rallies, but instead a penalty was assessed at each time control for not meeting the target: total penalty time was the measure of who was in what place.

Results

FinishPenaltyCar #Driver
Co-driverCarMfr.
points12023124567489101112131415161718Retired (mechanical)Retired (mechanical)Retired (mechanical)Retired (accident)Retired (accident)Retired (mechanical)Retired (mechanical)Retired (excluded)Retired (accident)Retired (mechanical)Retired (mechanical)Retired (accident)
6 m : 46 s1Kenya Shekhar Mehta
Kenya Lofty DrewsJapan Datsun 240Z
6 m : 46 s9Sweden Harry Källström
Sweden Claes BillstamJapan Datsun 1800 SSS
8 m : 47 s7Sweden Ove Andersson
France Jean TodtFrance Peugeot 504
9 m : 14 s19UK Tony Fall
UK Mike WoodJapan Datsun 1800 SSS
12 m : 7 s28Kenya Peter Huth
Kenya John McConnellFrance Peugeot 504
13 m : 10 s17Kenya Hugh Lionnet
Kenya Phillip HechleFrance Peugeot 504
14 m : 3 s20Zambia Satwant Singh
Zimbabwe John MitchellJapan Mitsubishi Colt Galant
14 m : 34 s23Kenya Robin Ulyate
Kenya Ivan SmithItaly Fiat 125 S
14 m : 37 s27Kenya Mike Kirkland
Kenya Bruce FieldJapan Datsun 1600 SSS
15 m : 5 s44Kenya Jim Noon
UK Rager BarnardJapan Datsun 1600 SSS
16 m : 16 s18Kenya Joginder Singh
Kenya Tim SamuelsJapan Mitsubishi Galant
17 m : 57 s15Tanzania Zully Remtulla
Tanzania Nizar JivaniJapan Datsun 1800 SSS
18 m : 58 sKenya Pat Neylan
Kenya Lofty ReynoldsJapan Mazda RX-2
19 m : 8 s3Kenya Vic Preston Jr.
UK Bev SmithUK Ford Escort RS1600
20 m : 0 sKenya Brian Barton
Kenya Chris FlyerJapan Datsun 180B
20 m : 12 sKenya Davinder Singh
Kenya David DoigJapan Mitsubishi Galant
20 m : 19 sKenya Ewart Walker
Kenya Anton LevitanJapan Datsun 1600 SSS
20 m : 52 sKenya John Rose
Kenya Steve RoseJapan Datsun 1600 SSS
2UK Roger Clark
UK Jim PorterUK Ford Escort RS1600
4Finland Hannu Mikkola
UK John DavenportUK Ford Escort RS1600
5Poland Sobiesław Zasada
Poland Marian BieńGermany Porsche 911
6Finland Rauno Aaltonen
UK Paul EasterJapan Datsun 240Z
8Tanzania Bert Shankland
Kenya Chris BatesFrance Peugeot 504
10Sweden Björn Waldegård
Sweden Hans ThorszeliusGermany Porsche 911
11Kenya Edgar Herrmann
Germany Hans SchüllerJapan Datsun 240Z
14Kenya Perre Parsons
Kenya Jim CowperFrance Peugeot 504
16Finland Timo Mäkinen
UK Henry LiddonUK Ford Escort RS1600
22Kenya Jack Simonian
Kenya Mike DoughtyItaly Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV
25UK Bill Fritschy
Kenya Kim MandevilleGermany Porsche 911
29Kenya Peter Shikuyah
Kenya Kim GatendeUK Ford Escort RS1600

Source: Independent WRC archive

Championship standings after the event

After round 4TeamSeason endPositionPointsPositionPoints15222232242051361212812981061151244113132
France Alpine Renault1147
Japan Datsun634
Italy Fiat284
Sweden Saab542
Italy Lancia1317
France Citroën733
France Peugeot1613
USA Ford376
Germany Porsche927
Germany Volkswagen1515
Germany Opel1125
Germany BMW828
Japan Mitsubishi174
Czechoslovakia Škoda183
Sweden Volvo444

References

References

  1. "Safari Rally". Independent WRC archive.
Info: Wikipedia Source

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