Alister McRae and co-driver David Senior were third fastest through the opening 106.56 kilometre section from Ntulele to Kedong but, such was the deficit, the British pair were still reliant on the misfortune of others to move up the leaderboard. Their hopes nearly came true when Juha Kankkunen dropped 17 minutes with broken suspension in section 11, but McRae too hit problems and lost time picking his way through the section with a lack of oil in the right rear damper. He nevertheless completed the final section without problem to arrive back in Nairobi in ninth position.

"It’s been quite a difficult rally, one which is extremely hard on the car and even more so this year, according to the other drivers", he said. "The conditions are quite strange; you can be flat- out in sixth gear for five or six kilometres and then have to slow right down and use first and second gears, so it’s quite difficult to find the right pace for good section times that also preserve the car. But I think we managed to do that".

Adding to his comments, Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team manager Derek Dauncey said: "It’s good to finish in the Manufacturer points in what has proved to be one of the most extreme Safaris of recent years. It’s always difficult for a driver to judge the pace, but Alister found a very good speed today and generally the right pace throughout the event. We’re obviously very pleased with his performance".

Meanwhile...

With only 11 cars surviving the three-day rally, 2002 sits alongside just a handful of other years as the roughest and toughest event, not only in the 50 year history of the Safari Rally but also the FIA World Rally Championship. With Nairobi in sight, drivers adopted a more cautious approach today, but many were still hampered with suspension problems over the rocky roads. Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) dropped to fifth with broken rear dampers in CS11 and Juha Kankkunen (Hyundai) dropped 17 minutes with similar problems. Colin McRae’s victory not only rekindles his Championship aspirations, but moves him ahead of rivals Carlos Sainz and Tommi Mäkinen as the most successful driver in the history of the series with 25 World Championship rally wins. Behind him, Harri Rovanperä scored points for Peugeot after an almost trouble-free event. Citroën can only have dreamed of third and fifth positions in its first Safari Rally, Thomas Rådström and Sébastien Loeb taking the plaudits. Markko Märtin (Ford) split the duo in fourth position, the Estonian also contesting his first Safari and loathing the experience. Gilles Panizzi (Peugeot) rounded off the top six. The leading and only remaining Skoda was that of Roman Kresta in seventh position, the Czech driver claiming manufacturer points, as did Safari Rally veteran Juha Kankkunen (Hyundai) in eighth.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Gr. N R. Stohl / C. Wikus

Mitsubishi Motors driver Rudi Stohl put in a beautifully judged performance to take second in class on Kenya’s Safari Rally, the fifth round of the 2002 FIA Production Car World Rally Championship, in his Mitsubishi Carisma GT, on a rally so tough that there were only two finishers in the Production class. Rising star Marcos Ligato was the pacesetter for most of the way in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, but narrowly failed to win an epic contest after running into suspension trouble with the finish almost in sight.

It was one of the most gruelling Safaris of recent times, just 11 of the 48 starters lasting the distance after 12 punishing sections. The last leg was the shortest, but the three sections in the Rift Valley, north-west of Nairobi, were amongst the most difficult of the rally, including a 3,000-metre ascent of the Mau Escarpment. The survivors faced heat as well as constant dust, and a severe pounding from the numerous rocks and holes, in a total competitive distance of 680 kilometres.

Austrian Rudi Stohl is a Safari veteran and he judged the pace of the rally beautifully, driving at a speed that kept his Carisma GT in good shape over well in excess of 2,000 kilometres.

"The Safari has always been a really tough event and you have to drive with your head as well as your feet. I am really happy to have finished - it is always an achievement on this rally - and I have not driven so much recently either", Stohl commented.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr.N M. Ligato / R. Garcia

Argentina’s Marcos Ligato had led from the start in his Lancer Evolution, but there was little to choose between him and his main rivals when he ran into suspension trouble on the penultimate section, allowing Karamjit Singh into the lead in his Proton. With just four minutes dividing the two, Ligato threw everything into a last-ditch counter-attack, only for suspension maladies to force him into retirement a few kilometres from home.

"It has been a great fight, but of course I am very disappointed. It was so good for most of the rally and I was really hoping that we could get our first victory of the season. We will be trying extra hard on the remaining rallies", Ligato said.

Singh held on to take his second 2002 victory, and takes the lead of the Production World Championship, while Ramon Ferryros leads the Mitsubishi Trophy.

The FIA Production Car World Championship continues on next month’s Rally Finland, which runs from 8-11 August.

Coming next ...

The FIA World Rally Championship now returns to Europe for the high-speed gravel event, Rally Finland (8-11 August). Spectacularly fast roads, littered with jumps, ensure some of the most fantastic action in the series, but local knowledge has always been critical to success in the past. François Delecour has previously contested the event five times, fourth position his best result (1994), while Alister McRae has six years of experience in Finland, albeit mainly in the Formula 2 category, which he won in 1998.

FINAL OVERALL CLASSIFICATION