Italy’s Eugenio Amos Claims lead in East African Safari Classic Rally

In a display of exceptional class and speed, Italy’s Eugenio Amos catapulted his Porsche 911 in yesterday’s race to the East African Safari Classic Rally leaderboard summit.

Amos now commands an impressive overnight lead of 3 minutes and 13 seconds, overshadowing South Africa’s Geoff Bell, whose Datsun 240Z struggled with overheating problems, relinquishing the top spot, which he had a grip on for the last two days.

On the other hand, defending champion and Kenya’s Baldev Chager in his Porsche 911 Showcased resilience, clawing back through today’s stages to secure third place overall, 12.46 behind the leader.

“Yesterday (Monday), after losing time and getting lost, I think the rest of the day went very well for us. I enjoyed today’s first stage, though we had to stop to change a flat tire. We also had a rocky drive on the second stage but enjoyed it anyway. I had rallied on the third stage before, but I wasn’t sure what to expect, more so, after the rains,” Chager said.

German Emile Breittmayer held the fourth position, with Jordan Serderidis rounding out the top five.

Amos, navigated by Paolo Ceci, dominated yesterday’s stages, clinching the first stage and finishing the last two in third and second place, respectively.

Kris Rosenberger and Nicola Bleicher in their Tuthill-prepared Porsche 911, celebrated their inaugural stage win, triumphing over Patrick Perche by a minute to clinch the second stage.

Kenya’s Piers Daykin and Tariq Malik in a Steffani Rocca Datsun 280Z, claimed the third stage victory, outpacing Amos by 1 minute and 4 seconds.

The rally, however, witnessed notable exits, including Saturday’s Prologue winner John Coyne, who withdrew after two days of action on medical grounds.

Coyne managed a commendable second-place finish in today’s first stage behind Amos. Observing the event's regulations, a crew member replacement on medical grounds is permitted, leading to Eoin Treacy stepping in as the co-driver for Josh McErlean Rallying for the remainder of the event.

Another notable exit was of the two immaculate Morgan Plus 8s after experiencing a heavy beating during the previous two days and failing to start day 3 today.

Despite tackling very unfamiliar road surfaces, both cars completed day 1 and day 2 with Carlos Alessandro and Pierre Arries finishing 57th. Andrea Bonomi, who was navigated by Kenyas Andrew Doig, finished 58th in the other Morgan.

In the battle of the classes, Nish Lakhani in a Datsun 1600 SSS led Class 1, while lone in his class, Eric Bengi, in an Opel Astra, took charge of Class 2. Rajesh Maini in a Ford Escort MK1 led Class 3, Eugenio Amos with a Porsche 911 led Class 4, while Belgium Bart Vanhaverbeke in a Mercedes 500 SLC led Class 5

Day 4

Today’s challenges include a demanding trio of stages: the short but arduous 35km Kongoni to Ngare Engare, followed by the daunting 58km Najile to Oltepesei—touted as this year’s toughest.

The day’s pinnacle will be the longest stage, Kamukuru to Hunters Look Out (93km), characterized by luggas and formidable rocks.