What does one get by pushing the boundaries of motorsports? Testing what man and machine can achieve in some of the most difficult conditions known. These are usually summed up in the East African Classic Safari Rally. It beggars belief that teams want to put themselves in situations that would shake the fillings out of your teeth, bend and break cars that would normally last a life-time. The answer is simple, to get a rush of having competed in one of the “Worlds Greatest Rallies”. To win the Rally is as good as writing history, to participate and to complete is a tale that will never get boring, like a child listening to his favourite bedtime story.
Preparation for 2009 is already on, but we pick up the tale in early September 2007, when the 504 was being loaded on to a container at Felixstowe Port in readiness for the very long haul at sea. To most this is just “dead time”. 8 weeks at sea – Gogi wanted to lock one of his mechanics in the container so that no time was wasted and finer details could be ironed out, whilst the car was at sea. The customs official was not amused at the thought! A Hand full of other competitors waited for their cars to be loaded and the crews nattered about the modifications that their cars had undergone.
The next few weeks saw most crews just waiting for the cars to dock in Mombasa. It is always a relief to see your car in one piece at the other end.
20th Nov 2007, 4 days to the event and Gogi drove the 504 to the car park at Whitesands Hotel, which was to be Rally HQ for the coming Fortnight. Crews had already arrived and the hustle of the mechanics working and engines reving was akin to a modern WRC Service Park. With the final tweaks made to the car by the mechanics Gogi put it to the test for the first time since leaving England. Gogi’s new navigator was Uwe, who had already been successful at bringing one previous driver, in 2003 to the finish line. Uwe Drove in 2005 and 2007 saw him back in the Navigators seat.
The organisers allowed competitors to test their cars on the first competitive stage of the rally proper. The idea was to remove all the gremlins, but a few kilometres into the stage the gears would not engage! The Rally had not even started yet! Back to the service park and there was frantic activity to get the problem sorted. A Full change of the clutch was needed, a few hours down and a new clutch, the 504 was ready to go. The V6 powerhouse looked like it would be the ticket to a successful Safari outing. The few kilometres of testing got rid of any other issues.
23rd November, one day before the event, and after numerous forms and documents completed for Service Crews, Cars and Spares. The Crew and Car 30 of – Hardev and Uwe slowly drove into Scrutinizing and passed without any issues.
24th November was a leisurely affair – a drive to the Famous Tusks in Mombasa for the ceremonial start. 58 cars and crews left the start ramp and headed back to the Rally HQ for the proper start on the Morning of the 25th.
The revs climbed as the controller counted down the start of the first stage. The lights on the tripod turning green and the Mechanical V6 “lion” roared into the first stage. Uwe seemed concerned with Gogi’s speed but 2007 was going to be different. Sira Racing had completed the event on the two previous attempts – this time it was about giving the big boys a run for their money. The car was behaving well and Gogi put pedal to the Metal. 60 Kms into the stage, Uwe read an instruction late and the V6 ploughed into the triple Caution Ruts over Rocks at around 110km/h! The reinforced track rod could not take the pressure and it buckled on impact. Gogi’s attempt to do a roadside repair was going to be in vain. The damage was extensive but Gogi managed to put it together with some steel cable and drove in reverse for 22km to limp out of the Stage. The safari had already bitten back with a vengeance; such is the wrath of the worlds toughest event.
Into service on the roadside and the second stage had to be missed to make proper the damage on the track rod. The 300km drive to the outskirts of Nairobi was a fast affair, on what was initially a beautiful tarmac road, and then the final stretch was riddled with “Diversions”. The 3rd stage was a quick spectator stage at Athi-River, a loop in a Stone Quarry lined with thousands of Rally Fans. Night had fallen fast and the stage was done with almost no lights!
The Nights rest halt and Service Park was at the fabulous Safari Park Hotel. The two hours at the end of each day allowed was another frantic affair, the clanging of hammers, whirring of Grinders was all that you could hear in what is normally a tranquil parking lot.
The day centred on the Delemare Farms and the famous Nyaru section. Another early drive to the outskirts of Nakuru and then across the Rift Valleys pan. Stage one - a 43 km stage in the Estates of Lord and Lady Delamere. It was a fast mix of twisty sandy roads, turning on to grassy tracks, cutting through thick bushes and navigating endless gates in the farm!
Stage two was Nyaru, close to Gogi’s hometown of Eldoret. The stage is a steep climb out of the Rift Valley, with numerous hairpin bends –similar to the American Pikes Peak race, but littered with rocks and a lot rougher! Gogi pushed the 504 with valour, won himself another few place and was lying 42nd overall. Things had started to look up.
A climb back in the opposite direction to that of day two. The scare of the day came when Uwe read an instruction late, not Uwes' fault but the trip meter had been playing up and the distances were hit and miss! The Triple Caution Ditch – that to you and me means - “Drive very carefully and or Stop” was taken at over 120km/h! It was a heart stopping moment but the speed took the 504 over the ditch and nose-dived on the other side ….a very lucky escape!
Stage two was the Kajiado plains. The stage had been recently graded and was very fast and smooth. The 504 being a rear wheel drive, the back end was always trying to get ahead of the front and the corners were all at full opposite lock!
Stage 3 was the 2nd longest stage of the entire rally. A massive 132kms! Gogi stayed on the road, avoiding the bushes and ruts that ran deep on the sides of the road. Car and crew emerged on the other end without any problems. Gogi had pulled another 2 positions in the overall ranking.
Amboseli’s Ol-Tukai Lodge held the remaining competitors in the overnight Parc Ferme. In the morning at 8.00am the dusty football pitch outside the lodge was the service area. Rest for the drivers, yes …but the service crews had rebuilds on their mind!
The Instructions in the road book said –
“Please keep alert at all times as wild animals frequent this area”. WARNING “Please don’t Walk Outside the Lodge and Service Areas – Wild Animals around Including Lions, Buffalo and Elephants. Do NOT Feed the Baboons, they are Dangerous and inflict a severe bite!!”
Where else in the world can you service rally cars and watch wild game?
The atmosphere was surreal. Bent cross-members, broken suspension, cracked wheels, whole engines were undergoing rebuilds. For Sira Racing it was no different. The 8 hours allowed today just flew by as the service crew addressed the problems. Apparently the first half of the rally was the easy part!! How could it get worse?
After the well-earned rest, it was another early start. The heavens had opened over the night and the day’s stages were going to be wet, the fine dust would have now become sticky mud.
The day’s drama actually came from some of the service crews. The Tuthills service truck had gone off the very slippery road that led them to the first service. So who rescues the stranded service crews?! Lets hope they get to their cars in time.
Gogi on the other hand was doing well in the stages, the 504 well suited for the Mud. The Mud-holes were big and in stage two Gogi narrowly avoid a small tree stump hid in the Mud-hole! The last stage to Maktau was twisty to begin with and the last 15kms was some of the straightest gravel road in Kenya – it was full throttle at speeds in excess of 160km/h, and that for Africa is very fast! End of day six and Gogi was lying 37th Overall.
Last Nights rest halt and Service Park was Taita Hills and one of the very few services that was “routine”.
The remaining cars crossed into Tanzania for the days’ two stages. Just when you think things are going well, the safari springs a surprise at you! The 504 started developing a niggling clutch problem. Kifaru to Nakikete was another fast and surprisingly smooth stage. The jumps were big and many – Gogi took one fast and landed heavily on the other side, unknown to him he had taken out the Diff guard. Doing even one stage without a diff guard in the Safari is like going to war without armour plating.
The second stage was a long 116.5kms. Towards the end of the stage a rock went straight through the diff casing, the diff mounting broke and Gogi was on the roadside. Luckily Imtiaz Dewji in a Datsun 240Z was behind and offered to tow him for the last 10 kms! Such was the camaraderie on the event. But in this case it was a bit more – Uwe’s wife Gabby was navigating Imtiaz, she obviously wasn’t going to leave hubby stuck in the middle of nowhere!
Gogi’s service crew was hailed king today. The smashed diff was out and a new one fitted under 35 minutes and most other issues addressed in the time allowed. Try getting that level of service at your local Garage!
Drivers from Europe are often heard saying that one stage in the Safari is usually equivalent to a whole days rallying in UK or Europe.
So as to just confirm this, the days’ opening round ‘Man and Machine Vs The Elements of Komolo to Maserani Stage’ – a mind boggling 154kms (90miles)! A notorious river crossing at 20kms, that caught out a lot of the drivers. A rough steep decent into a river, water level at 4 feet and the bottom of the river lined with small boulders. In too fast and you stand to take in water, cough and choke the engine dead. Too slow and you will never get up the extremely steep climb out of the water. Even with a faulty clutch, Gogi navigated the crossing well and was on his way out.
A further 8kms in, lay a stretch of 11 kms of “Fesh-Fesh” – a very fine dust, like talcum powder that goes knee deep in places. Made worse by the previous drivers cars digging up the dust and making deeper ruts. Gogi steered the 504 through the ‘fesh-fesh’, passing a lot of other stranded cars – “Sorry guys but had I stopped to help, I would have been stuck myself”. The dust bellowed through every nook into the car and it was difficult to see the road ahead. Once again Gogi emerged through. All the crew needed now, was a very good shower to get rid of the dust.
The second stage was a shorter 62 kms to Sanya Juu. By now every start was with the help of a push. The clutch was deteriorating fast. At the night service one of the drivers stuck in the Fesh-fesh said, “Hardev was driving his 504 like a captain steering his vessel through a storm”. Captain Gogi had done himself proud!
The final nights service was eventful. The travel in the clutch was lost and it took some doing to get it sorted. The service ran over the time, and it did not help when the black clouds above unleashed some of the worst rain seen! 5 minutes of down pour had the service area under water. Heard the phrase ‘it rained cats and dogs?’ Well in Tanzania it must have rained “cows and pigs!” What else can go wrong? – In the safari you don’t ask that, because something will! As if to add insult to injury, it did not help to find the crews room occupied by someone else!
Gogi’s ‘never say die’ spirit was going to get them to the end of the Rally. For anyone else, they would have packed it in on day two. Gogi headed for the last 3 stages, 2 in Tanzania and the last in Kenya.
The Usambara Mountains are a dream to drive in, wide and fast sweeping roads. These can quickly turn into a nightmare. Ask the crew of car 46 – Minesh Ratore in a Colt Lancer. Gogi came to a medium right hand bend to find Minesh waving him on. Gogi drove on, only to realise, “Where is his car?” As Gogi came out of the next left bend he could see across into the valley, and there it was around 80 – 100 feet down in the tea plantation below! The safari takes another victim on its penultimate day.
Gogi could smell the Coastline in Mombasa. The count down to the end had begun. Each kilometre ticked by and the clutch was now on its last legs. The gears had to be forced in. What started off as a full onslaught at a top class finish, had changed to just getting to the finish.
Jubilant crew, family and spectators saw Gogi bring the car home in an extremely commendable 34th overall. After all the problems this was an achievement on its own. The champagne was well deserved. The finish was dedicated to Gogi’s very close family friend – Pappu (Jones) Virdee who had passed away soon after the 2005 event. Pappu had seen Gogi through the previous two events in 2003 and 2005.
The V6 504 Peugeot Coupe.
**** In the beginning the car was a fine looking piece of machinery, now it looked tired, with Gaffer Tape holding the lights, cable ties and ratchet straps giving strength to some weakening parts. That is what almost every Safari Car looked like in the end. The 5000 kms had taken their toll. Crews looked like they had been battered with a duster and could do with a dip in the Indian Ocean, but talk had already started of the 2009 event…
Narrated by:
Harpal Singh Sudle
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