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Tuthill Porsche recently enjoyed a successful test ahead of the 2015 East African Safari Classic Rally. Over the slate-strewn stages of a mid-Wales rally school, Richard Tuthill clocked up 200 kilometres in a classic Porsche 911 rally car built specifically for this year’s East African Safari Classic Rally, which takes place across Kenya and Tanzania from November 19-27.
Run once every two years, the East African Safari Classic Rally is the modern-day running of the original Safari Rally, which earned a fearsome reputation as the world’s toughest rally. Former winners of both events insist that little has changed through the years, with cars and crews still pushed to their limits over the highly competitive ten day, 2,500-mile rally.
Tuthill Porsche is a previous winner of the East African Safari Classic: the late Björn Waldegård taking the Porsche 911’s debut Safari win in 2011. This year will be the first Safari Rally since Waldegård’s passing. Regular Safari Rally competitors will miss the five-time Safari winner.
“Every Safari is different, but this one has many new challenges,” said Richard, who is readying our team’s historic Porsche 911s ship to Kenya in early September. “The rally has a new route, with the longest single stage extended to more than 180 kilometres: almost half the total running of a current World Championship Rally.
“The organisers have also tightened scrutineering procedures, with strict enforcement of period FIA homologation for all competing vehicles. Removing previous flexibility surrounding this regulation confirms the Safari as the world’s toughest rally for historic rally cars prepared to the highest standards.”
Twelve Tuthill Porsche 911s will compete on Safari in 2015, a condensed force versus the seventeen Porsches we prepared for the 2013 rally. A final-stage puncture cost us our second Safari win, this time with former World Champion, Stig Blomqvist, but driver and team remained gracious in defeat. Richard is excited to get back to Kenya.
“2013 was an incredible rally, where our team was tested to the absolute limit. It was tough to lose within sight of victory, but we vowed to come back even stronger. Set in the most beautiful part of the world with the wonderful East African people, Safari is our favourite rally. We’re excited by the prospect of another Safari: the ultimate test of these incredible rally cars.”
