Datsun Snatches Team Trophy in Tough EA Safari Rally - Zambian Pair in Seventh Heaven

Zambians Satwant Singh and John Mitchell finished seventh in the gruelling 5,000km East African Safari Rally which ended here today.

Their Colt Galant was among the 16 of 89 starters which survived the punishing five days of driving over “abominable” roads.

It is the third time Singh, the “Flying Sikh,” competed in the Safari.

Singh and Mitchell told the Times today that they were pleased with the way their car had behaved. “We lost time on the northern leg in the mountain area between Meru and Embu,” they said.

No other Zambian or part Zambian driven cars completed the event.

But the Japanese factory – entered Datsuns achieved a clean sweep victory when they occupied eight places – the first second, fourth, ninth to 11th, 14th and the last – among finishers.

Local Asian driver, 27-year-old millionaire Shehkar Medbia, partnered by Lofty Drews, won the rally in a works Datsun 240Z.

Mehta tied on penalty points with Swedish pair Harry Kalstrom and Claes Bilstam but Mehta was declared winner because he traveled further incurring the least number of penalties.

Mehta said he benefited by the wet stretches on the final 800km leg from Nakuru as this enabled him to drive fast. “There were no special tricks in the Safari.” He added.

The rules gave the rally to the young Asian, one of 40,000 Asians expelled from Uganda last year by President Idi Amin.

If Mehta had not hit a cow and lost his wing panel he would have won without the tie-break.

Three works-entered French Peugeots finished third, fifth and sixth at Nairobi.

The Peugeots as usual drove a steady relentless if unspectacular rally, but they were well down on team points aggregate with more than 2,000 penalties against their top three finishers, against some 1,300 penalties for the Japanese Datsuns.

The Japanese had mounted a massive service operation to back up their works team. So had Ford of Britain, but with Hanna Mikkola out of the running, not one works entered British Ford Escort 1600 rally specials was left with the leaders.

There was drama on the road around Mount Kenya on the final leg this morning when two Finnish rally aces dropped out within minutes of each other when in the lead.

One was Rauno Aaltonen in a works Datsun. He rolled off the road after being passed by last year’s winner Mikkola.

But Mikkola led the field only a few minutes before steering trouble on his works-entered Ford Escort rally special 1600 caused him to abandon his rally drive.

Third on points at the end of the rally was the French Peugeot 504 fuel injected model of Swedish driver, Ove Andersson.

Fourth was another works Datsun – the 1800 SSS of Britain’s Tony Fall and Mike Wood.

It was a final, devastating blow to a much-fancied team of five British Fords. Three had retired earlier, and the only one of the works Escorts to finish was the car of local driver Vic Preston Jr., whose car limped into Nairobi in 13th place.

Disaster also struck the two women drivers, Ann Taleth and Sylvia King from Kenya, who were time-bar-red after finishing in Nairobi 14th on the road. Earlier their documents and money were stolen from the car as a crowd pushed it out of a ditch.

The following are the final placings:

1. Datsun 240Z – Mehta/Drews – 406 Penalties.
2. Datsun 1800 SSS – Kalstrom/Bilstram – 406 Penalties.
3. Peugeot 504 – Andersson/Todt – 527 Penalties.
4. Datsun 1800 SSS – Fall/Woods – 554 Penalties.
5. Peugeot 504 – Huth/Mecconmell – 727 Penalties.
6. Peugeot 504 – Lionnet/Hechle – 790 Penalties
7. Colt Galant – Satwant/Mitchell – 843 Penalties.
8. Fiat 1255 – Ulyate/Smith – 874 Penalties.
9. Datsun 1600 SSS – Kirkland/Field – 877 Penalties.
10. Datsun 1600 SSS – Noon/Reader – 908 Penalties.

Satwant Singh and John Mitchell in their Colt Galant at Sultan Hamud on the way back to Nairobi at the end of the Southern leg on Saturday.