John Lloyd will soon be leaving his comfortable office chair in the City of London to drive 3500kms over the most challenging roads in Kenya and Tanzania when he competes on the East African Safari Rally.
The ten-day event starts in Mombasa on Saturday 24th November. There will be halts in Nairobi, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Taita Hills and Arusha before returning to the finish in Mombasa on Monday 3rd December.
This is the third time this classic event has been organised and Lloyd has been a regular supporter of this his favourite rally. He was one of the leading competitors in 2003 driving a Ford Escort until he crashed on the final leg and the car went up in flames. In 2005 he finished a creditable fourth overall driving a Porsche 911.
"Mike Kirkland, the previous organiser of this event contacted me a few months ago and offered to loan me his Datsun 240Z. I went to Kenya in August to drive the car and was very pleased with its strength and speed. Former Safari Rally winner Juha Kankkunen drove this car in 2005 and the team of local mechanics learnt from having a professional driver in the car.
I will be co-driven by Adrian Cavenagh who lives in Kenya and has partnered me on a number of African rallies over the years. The Safari Rally is unique; I grew up in Kenya and my first encounter with Motorsport was working for my father as a checkpoint controller on the Safari Rally in 1972. I have competed on the Safari Rally several times notably finishing 14th overall in 1999 when it was a round of the World Rally Championship and was won by Colin McRae.
Two former Safari Rally winners Bjorn Waldegard and Stig Blomqvist are driving Ford Escorts and have been driving these vehicles regularly throughout the year. I will need to get used to the Datsun and will have to pace myself for this endurance rally. This year I hope to improve on my previous performance and be on the podium when the event finishes on the white sands of Mombasa on 3rd December, " said John Lloyd
For further information on East African Safari Rally please visit
http://www.eastafricansafarirally.com/
Home