East African Safari Classic Rally 2007

[Z-point]

http://www.eastafricansafarirally.com/results07/reusltsday-1.htm

[Z-point]

It took only ten kilometres of the first competitive section on Monday morning to change the leader board of the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally 2007. Overnight leader, Bjorn Waldegård, had a rear puncture on his Ford Escort RS1600. He and his co-driver, son Mathias, changed the wheel very quickly and were just ready to continue when Gerard Marcy swept past in his Porsche 911. For the rest of the section, some forty kilometres, Waldegård had to stay behind in the dust and thus lost the lead to Marcy. On the next section, Waldegård had another puncture which he also changed and lost time again.

For Marcy, taking the lead was a mixed blessing. He did not have to worry about dust from rally cars in front, but he was now first car on the road and in the next two competitive sections had close encounters with two goats, a sheep and a taxi. He had no punctures during the day but his car bore the scars of these encounters as it came into the night halt in Naivasha still in the lead.

Third at the end of the first day was the second Historic Motorsport Escort of Stig Blomqvist but he too was to suffer with punctures. His first one split the wheel rim and carried away a brake pipe while the second one just cost him time. This dropped him to fourth and, after the first section, promoted Ian Duncan to third. The local hero had taken the fastest time on the first section with his Ford Mustang but then he too was hit with punctures, this time two on the same stage. As with Blomqvist, the effect was to loosen his brake coupling which meant that he lost almost twenty minutes in the section and then had to work hard in service to get the car roadworthy again. He dropped to eighth in the placings at the end of the day.

The problems that beset Blomqvist and Duncan promptly promoted Frederic Dor in a Porsche into third place while behind the leading quartet, Graham Alexander, running steadily in his Datsun 260Z held a comfortable fifth place ahead of Geoff Fielding's Porsche 911. Just behind them Stefano Rocca was fractionally ahead of Duncan and holding seventh place. Rounding out the top ten was John Lloyd in the ex-Mike Kirkland Datsun 240Z in ninth with yet another Tuthill Porsche 911, that of Steve Troman in tenth.

In eleventh place is a very happy Roddy Sachs with the first of his three Datsun 180Bs. The other two, driven by Geoff Bell and Wayne Kieswelter, are lying fifteenth and nineteenth.

The rally tomorrow will visit Elementaita and then back to the Kerio Valley before returning for the night halt at Naivasha. The competitive section through Elburgon has been cancelled due to the large number of almost impassable mud holes left by the recent rains.

[Z-point]

http://www.eastafricansafarirally.com/results07/reusltsday-2.htm

Car No. 1 Bjorn Waldegard

"We had a puncture on the first section then Marcy passed us so we were in his dust. We then tried to take something back in the second competitive section but we had another puncture - on the front this time. But we were bloody to quick to change them - my son is a good mechanic. I think we lost about five to six minutes in all."

Car No. 2 Gerard Marcy

"Of course, after the first section we were leading on the road as well as leading the rally so we had the job of meeting all the hazards first. We hit two goats and a sheep and finally a taxi that was coming the other way. No big damage but Alain's foot is worn out from pressing the horn button. We had no punctures and I am driving at ninety per cent to try and keep it that way."

From Richard Tuthill: "It's fantastic to be where we are at the moment with four of our Porsches in the top ten. But one must not count one's chickens as there is a lot more rallying to go."

Car No. 3 Stig Blomqvist

From co-driver Ana Goni: "Not a good day. We had two punctures on different stages and the first puncture split the rim and cut the brake pipe so we were really slow and then of course we lost time with the other puncture as well."

Car No. 4 Frederic Dor

"There were no real problems. The way to go fast today was to avoid the punctures. The steering became loose on the Porsche 911 during the last section so I had to go slow. There was still a problem from yesterday with its fixing. The stages are great. Luckily I have Marcy clearing the road for us."

Car No. 5 Ian Duncan

"The first section was good for us but then we had two rear punctures on the second. We had the second just five kilometres after the first. The rim was damaged and the car dropped off the jack and somehow loosened the rear brake connection thus we had to finish the section without much in the way of brakes. And then work like hell in service to get the car mobile again. I nearly finished the rally going away from service when a rally car in front of me slowed up for some goats and I discovered my brakes were not yet one hundred per cent."

Car No. 6 John Lloyd

"Again there were no problems with the 240Z. I haven't broken anything and we haven't any punctures. Only problem was the road section into Naivasha."

Car No. 7 Keith Callinan

"Unfortunately we made a navigational error going out to the first section and got stuck on a highway and couldn't turn around so we missed that section. We made the second and really enjoyed the third - it had nice flowing fast bits you could actually drive. The Escort's been great and there's no problems "

Car No. 8 Steve Perez

Unfortunately co-driver, Mike Stuart had turned over two pages of the road book in the first section and they got lost. They turned round and passed another car so they turned again only to find the other car stopped with a puncture. But they were able to confirm that this was the right road. They also had the front suspension break on that first section - compression strut broke away from main body. On the third section they think they have broken a bar which helps to retain the differential and rear axle.

Car No. 9 Iain Freestone

The Escort rolled in the first competitive section and though retrieved and found to still be in working condition, after examination by the scrutineers, it has been mutually decided it will not re-start. Iain Freestone: "We gave it a good reason to roll. It was a fast bend slightly downhill and we went in far too fast. The pile of rocks on the outside didn't help at all. My back hurts but the doctor says I will just be stiff."

Deputy Clerk of the Course, Mike Summerfield, suggested Iain's next Safari car could be a "Roller".

Car No. 10 Geoff Fielding

"The event is beyond my expectations. And to make it even better, I'm lying sixth. If I finish in the top ten it will be like winning the rally for me!"

Car No. 11 Graham Alexander

"Everything is OK. The 260Z is going well and there's no complaints. It's a bit rougher than the last East African Safari Classic and I think everyone's driving a bit tougher as well."

Car No. 12 Bo Axlesson

Retired the Escort in first section with a broken rear axle. From Mark Solloway: "I have never seen anything like it before in my life. The inner end of the half shaft broke inside the differential and then exploded. It's broken the differential casing and the axle tube. We have spares and we shall try to get the new axle in it this evening but first I need to find a bearing press."

Car No. 14 Alex Hack

"We had a very good run through today. We hit a rock on the second section and bent the rim but it didn't puncture. However just three kilometres from the end of the third section we did have a puncture. We had a odometer problem and thought it was only a couple of kilometres to the end of the section so decided to drive on which was a big mistake as it was a quite a bit further. So we eventually we had to stop to change the tyre and lost more time than if we'd stopped in the first place. To top it all, the other rear tyre had got so hot driving the car on its own that it too failed before the end of the section."

Car No. 15 Richard Martin-Hurst

"We popped a front shock absorber on the first section and it lost all its oil so we had to change the insert at the first service. Apart from that no problems except some nice person threw a rock and broke our screen while we were trying to negotiate that horrible diversion between Nakuru and Naivasha."

Car No. 16 Stephen Troman

"We have tripled our rally experience in a single day. We hit a culvert on the first section and shot four feet in the air and spun as we landed. This was a self-inflicted error which we are trying not to repeat. We did break a rear damper in the third section but generally the Porsche 911 is OK and we haven't had any punctures."

Car No. 19 Paul and Mary-Ellen Kane

The front suspension of the Mustang came apart twenty kilometres before the end of the second section so they took maximum penalties on the last two sections.

Car No. 20 Paul-Eric Jarry

"It was a good day but there were a couple of trucks in the competitive section."

When asked about some damage to the Porsche's roo-bar: "We hit a rock which was a bit off the road."

Car No. 21 Jonathan Savage

"We had no punctures on the 260Z although we had four yesterday - I don't know how we did it. On the last section the engine cut out a kilometre from the end. It was the high tension lead for the distributor. We fixed it but the engine cut out again and I realised I had forgotten to reconnect the fuel pumps. I think we lost about 2-3 minutes."

Car No. 22 Albert Michiels

"We had one puncture on the first section and two punctures on the second section. Happily this pattern did not repeat itself for the third section. The Porsche is good and seems to like this kind of rallying."

Car No. 23 Paul Darrouzet

They broke the rear suspension on the first section and are taking maximum penalties for the other sections today.

Car No. 24 David Kedward

The water pump on the Escort failed yesterday and the car did not continue today.

Car No. 25 John Rose

"Not a brilliant day, we had one puncture per section and stopped and changed them each time. The worst was the first puncture where the rim broke and the car went down so that we couldn't get the jack under. Fortunately a group of Masai helped us lift the car and we got going again. I'm driving like my grandmother to save punctures but we have to find some solution because I cant go any slower."

Car No. 26 Josef Pointinger

"We had a puncture on the first section ten kilometres from the end. Some places were rough - not even an Austrian farmer would drive over this in their tractor - but we're here for the Safari." Amazingly, Pointenger recalled that on the 2003 Safari Classic, he broke a rear leaf spring on this Escort and was given a second hand replacement by Iain Freestone. "And it is the same one that is on the car today."

Car No. 27 Stefano Rocca

"There were no problems for us. We even had time to tops and wash the car at service. The second section was the toughest I've seen in all my time living in Kenya. I've competed in three modern Safaris in the 1990's and this is definitely much tougher."

Car No. 29 Aslam Khan

They had suspension problems in the Escort in the second section and took maximum penalties for the last section.

Car No. 33 Roddy Sachs

"We had a very good day. It was a bit a rough in patches but there were some super sections - it's a pity there weren't more."

Car No. 34 Ian & Val Swan

The clutch centre in the Volvo pulled out on the first section so the service crew came in and towed it straight to service in Naivasha. It will hopefully start again tomorrow morning "We made a lot of friends with the local tribesmen," said Val. "And gave them all the baseball caps from the rallies we've done in the past. You take the good with the bad and tomorrow is another day."

Car No. 36 Shaheed Wissanji

"It was an excellent day. It was very rough in the second section. They weren't even rocks - they were boulders. We changed the bushes on the shocks. It was a good day and we hope we can keep it that way."

This is the same BMW 2002 driven by Simon Sharpe and Denis Burnett drove to tenth place in the 2005 East African Safari Classic except it's now white instead of orange!

Car No. 37 David Rayner.

The connection between the end of the Capri's steering rack and the steering arm came off in the first section. "We came off the road and went straight into the bushes," said Rayner. "We fixed it but then it happened again later in the section."

The Rayners will start again tomorrow morning.

Car No. 40 Jeremy Bennett

"We got stuck in a mud hole in the first section. The locals helped us push it out and we opened the bonnet to let the electrics dry out in the Kenyan sun - it only took about ten minutes. We ran out of petrol on the road section just as we drove into a petrol station but they were closed so we filled it up with Jerry can."

Car No. 42 Bert Dolk

"We have had two problems today. One is the front spring seats on the bottom wishbones which are collapsing despite being highly strengthened. And the other was the rear mounting for the gearbox which bent and we had to take it off and straighten it. All this meant we had to miss the third section and go straight to Naivasha. My goodness, I used to think that the old RAC rally was the roughest thing I had done but I've had to revise my opinion."

Car No. 43 Tim Mammen

"We had an average day which was spoilt by losing second gear in the first section which meant we had to drive all day in a rather conservative fashion. We will change the box tonight but it's quite a lot of work as we have to also change the differential to match the different ratios in the new gearbox."

Car No. 45 Geoff Bell

"It was a long dusty day but there were no problems except the steering box became loose. But that was nothing compared to yesterday when the steering wheel became loose in the Taitas. We've sorted yesterday's problems with the shocks by making them softer."

Car No. 47 Peter Harland

"It was exhausting but very good. I had a couple of close calls in the first stage going sideways and the car stalled again but I had a lot of fun."

Car No. 48 Ekya and Prina Shah

They missed the last section yesterday because of a broken oil pipe but today was clean. "Today's been fine," they said. "Some interesting roads and very rocky."

Car No. 50 Nick Mason

"We broke one rim and buckled another. Part of the problem may be that we dropped the tyre pressures to try and save the dampers from overheating. We carry a lot of weight in this Datsun 260Z as we don't have a management car to carry our petrol and thus it runs with the full one hundred litres all the time."

From co-driver Adrian Grinstead: "We're jumping around so much I can't tick the notes off in the roadbook and I'm strapped into the seat so tight that my bum has gone completely numb."

Car No. 52 Iqbal Sagoo

The rear left wheel came off in the first section and took the brake calliper with it. "The wheel passed us and went off way into the distance," said Sagoo. "We put the spare on but we had no spare calliper so we had a missing brake for the rest of the day."

Car No. 53 Wayne Kieswetter / Rob Hellier

"It was all fun. A little bit rough but that's what the Safari is about."

Car No. 58 Michel Puchercos

"No problems, a good day, and no punctures."

[Z-point]

Dhanjal, Harvinder

Dor, Frederic

Perez, Steve

Waldegard, Bjorn

[red_dog007]

I would so LOVE to do this. I have always wanted a rally Z. Maybe when I get some $$ I can build one and enter some competitions and try to make it big time!

Those Rally Z's are BADA$$!!!

[Z-point]

Daily update http://picasaweb.google.nl/datsunholland/Eas2007/photo#s5136922663035313586

[Z-point]

Daily update

http://picasaweb.google.nl/datsunholland/Eas2007/photo#s5137650909100089794

[Carl Beck]

Hi Guus:

Thanks for the great coverage - keep it coming!!

Although the photographs thus far are excellent.... I'm sure hoping that someone will get some details of the Z's - engines, suspension, special prep items...

kind regards,

Carl

Carl Beck

Clearwater, FL

http://ZHome.com

[Nigel1943]

Brief description of the top running 260's. They have remote canister suspension, uprated moustache bar, big LSD diff, close ratio competition trannys, heated windscreen (no heater), 240+bhp engines, lighter flywheel with competition clutches, foam filled gas tanks, integral multipoint roll cages, underbody kevlar shields and fully seam welded bodyshells with strengthend chassis rails (especially around the bulkhead)

[Z-point]

DAY THREE - Tuesday : NAIVASHA TO NAIVASHA

The ever-changing fortunes of the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally 2007 swung in the direction of Bjorn Waldegård's Ford today. The overnight leader, Gerard Marcy, fastest in the first competitive section by almost a minute and half (not half a minute as first reported) suffered one of the problems that occurs to those running first on the road. His co-driver, Alain Lopes missed seeing a turn off onto a smaller track on the second section and, as fate would have it, there was a similar one just beyond it. The Porsche 911 lost more than ten minutes to it rivals and slipped back into second place.

Behind them, Frederic Dor kept hold on third place in his Porsche 911 despite breaking a clutch cable in the first section and having fourth placed man, Stig Blomqvist, catch him with his Ford Escort. Graham Alexander had the great misfortune to fall into an unseen dip shortly after the end of the second section and managed to rip off one complete side of his front suspension. Whether his Datsun 260Z is reparable is open to question but one thing is certain, he is no longer holding down fifth place. That is now held by Geoff Fielding in a Porsche 911 with John Lloyd sixth in his Datsun 260Z.

Biggest news of the morning was the fact that Stephano Rocca, at that point best local driver, had rolled his Datsun 260Z in the first section. At first it looked as if he might be able to continue but then it was discovered that the safety roll cage was broken and he was forced to retire. This promoted Ian Duncan to best local with his Ford Mustang in seventh place ahead of Steve Perez in a Datsun 260Z. More African drivers now fill out the top ten with Geoff Bell having brought his Datsun 180B up from sixteenth place to ninth and Jonathan Savage, Datsun 260Z having risen from fifteenth to tenth.

However, the most improved driver of the day must be Steve Troman who has come from nineteenth to place his Porsche 911 in eleventh place overall just a minute behind Savage. For all the crews, there is much more to come as the rally leaves Naivasha in the morning to head south via three longer and tougher sections to the night halt in Amboseli where, in the heart of the game reserve, they and their cars will have a day of rest on Thursday before tacking four more days of relentless rallying.

Provisional top ten classification

Pos Crew Car Penalty

1. Bjorn Waldegård/Mathias Waldegård Ford Escort 5hr 08m 15s

2 Gerard Marcy/Alain Lopes Porsche 911 5hr 12m 45s

3. Frederic Dor/Didier Breton Porsche 911 5hr 22m 06s

4. Stig Blomqvist/Ana Goni Ford Escort 5hr 23m 47s

5. Geoff Fielding/Preston Ayres Porsche 911 5hr 33m 56s

6. John Lloyd/Adrian Cavenagh Datsun 240Z 5hr 42m 05s

7. Ian Duncan/Amaar Slatch Ford Mustang 5hr 42m 15s

8. Steve Perez/Michael Stuart Datsun 260Z 5hr 51m 21s

9. Geoff Bell/Steve Harris Datsun 180B 5hr 52m 51s

10. Jonathan Savage/Quentin Savage Datsun 260Z 5hr 54m 05s

Car No. 1 Bjorn Waldegard

"We had a left front puncture seven kilometres from the end of the last section but we drove out on it. The sections were brilliant and we were clean apart from the puncture. It was very difficult for the navigator but Mathias was spot on. He hurt his back slightly on the transport section but it's fine now."

On taking the lead from Marcy he said: " The Safari is an event that always levels things out. It has its ups on downs. You can't use any tactics except to play it safe."

Car No. 2 Gerard Marcy and Alain Lopes

They made a navigational error on the second section and lost about ten minutes. The car was first on the road and there were no tracks to follow and co-driver Lopes reported there were two junctions that exactly corresponded with the tulip within 100m of each other. They unfortunately took the second and it wasn't until 6km later they realised the mistake and then had to retrace their steps, making a 12km detour in all.

Alain Lopes said: "It's a shame because this is my last competitive rally. After this I will only be doing regularity events."

Car No. 3 Stig Blomqvist

"No problems and no punctures. Anyway, this was better than the other two days."

Car No. 4 Frederic Dor

The clutch cable of the Porsche 911 failed in the first section but they were second fastest in the second section. "We lost a lot of time," said Dor. "And we only had second and fourth gear for those passage controls on the Delamere estate. But we fixed it and it was fine for the second section. I think we did a good time."

Car No. 5 Ian Duncan

The Mustang had a puncture on the first section when they hit a rock hidden in the grass. They stopped and changed it. The car arrived at Naivasha with no starter motor. "Something clicks down there," said Duncan. "But nothing turns."

Car No. 6 John Lloyd

The 240Z has pulled up from ninth to sixth place, just in front of Ian Duncan. They lost a service car this morning but it has now been replaced.

"This is the third day in a row there's been no punctures and nothing broken. We had a clean run and I think we pulled up some places. It's taken me a couple of days to get into my pace but when you've got Duncan behind you tend to put your foot down."

Car No. 7 Keith and Mary-Ellen Callinan

"Today was just wonderful. It's been our first day without drama and we've found a pace we're happy with. Unfortunately we were in really bad dust on the first section but the Escort was great and not even the wheel alignment was out."

Car No. 8 Steve Perez

"We had a rear differential cross member come loose towards the end of the second section and that slowed us a bit." The suspension on the 260Z was proving troublesome and Perez was last seen negotiating with the service crew of Rocca to try and acquire his complete spare set.

Car No. 10 Geoff Fielding

"The car is fantastic and we had a nice day," said Fielding still with a slight air of amazement after discovering they were now lying fifth in their Porsche 911. "There's actually more dust on the road sections than on the competitive sections."

Car No. 11 Graham Alexander

The extremely competitive Australian Datsun 260Z was apparently caught out by a large car-sized hole shortly after the end of the second section. The impact ripped a lot of the front suspension out and, at this point, it's not known if the car is reparable sufficiently to continue on Wednesday morning.

Car No.12 Bo Axelsson

The clutch went on the Escort and they didn't complete the second section.

Car No. 14 Alex Hack

"I had a slightly loose steering arm which we fixed after the first section. There was a lot of dust from the other cars. It seems to be a pattern with us: we drive then we break something, we drive then we break something but what will be, will be."

Without their considerable road penalties incurred for service their Escort would be a lot better placed in results.

Car No. 15 Richard Martin-Hurst

No punctures today but some starter motor problems on the last road section. "I've never driven on such a rough road and over such rocks as on that approach to the first competitive section. It was even worse than the old Liege when it went into Yugoslavia after the Skopje earthquake."

Car No. 16 Steve Troman

They had noise from a driveshaft when they went to start the first section this morning and they changed both after the section. "It was a bit narrow in the grass sections of that first section," said Troman. "On the second section we broke the top of one of the rear dampers and that had to be fixed at service. We also had a puncture but that was on the road section. Martin (Rowe) was great and is doing a lot to keep me in check and up to scratch."

Car No. 18 Aslam Shah

From co-driver Lofty Drews: "The head gasket we fitted yesterday is behaving itself and we had - for us - a relatively trouble-free day. We were plagued by a misfire for both competitive sections which turned out to be thanks to the distributor wires not being properly refitted. We only discovered it by the purest chance before Naivasha."

Car No. 19 Paul & Mary-Ellen Kane

Second competitive section today - Tuesday - broke the front suspension of their Ford Mustang, opposite side to the one they broke yesterday - Monday - but hope to re-start tomorrow - Wednesday.

Car No. 20 Paul-Eric Jarry

"We broke a rim three kilometres before the end of the first section and it cost us at least four minutes as we had to stop and change the wheel. The worst thing today, like yesterday, has been the main road diversions which are really bad."

Car No. 21 Jonathan Savage

"It was quite tough today. We had a good first section but I think we broke a strut on the back in the second section because we hit something and we've got a badly bent rim so we had to back off for the rest of the section. It was an amazing drive down into Kerio - there were some serious drops."

Car No. 25 John Rose

This is a farm-built rally car using Stuart Wilkin's parts from Australia and built by John's son, Lee, who has been Kenya national rally champion and Mike Mwangi.

"We did a really good first section but then we had a puncture on the second on the descent into Kerio valley. The Callinans came past us but were really nice to let us back through when we caught them later. Our final problem today was from the fuel pumps that could not, for some reason, pull the petrol through the filters which we had to bypass. We lost ten minutes on the road."

Car No. 26 Josef Pointinger

"We had a broken throttle cable spring before the second section but we fixed it before we had to start."

Car No. 27 Stefano Rocca

The ex-Collinge 260Z (which won the 2003 and 2005 Safari Classics) unfortunately rolled on the first section. The crew are fine but the rollcage is too damaged for them to continue. "I made a mistake," said Rocca. "I was going too fast in the dust and hit a rock. It was one slow roll but it was enough. I should have slowed down but it's so difficult when you're racing."

Car No. 29 Aslam Khan

Yesterday the Escort damaged a rose joint when they hit a rock. They had no spare and the service vehicle couldn't come into the section until the other cars had finished. They had a very late return into Naivasha.

"We had a much better day today. We drove very safely and soundly without any risks."

Car No. 32 Larry Horn

"After yesterday's disaster today was great. It was challenging but a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to tomorrow after a long shower."

Car No. 33 Roddy Sachs

Unfortunately the Datsun 180B hit a rock five kilometres into the first section. It broke the track rod, bent the camber arm and generally deranged the steering. "I made a mistake," said Sachs. "We tried to fix it but it wasn't right in the second section either."

Car No. 36 Shaheed Wissanji

"We've had no power all day. We've been pushed up hills and it's very frustrating. We're going to look at the engine now but we have no real idea what it is. We think it maybe fuel supply to the carburettors. We also had a broken rear suspension arm but that's changed now so it's just the engine we have to sort out before the morning."

Car No. 37 David Rayner

"The good news is that the air conditioning is working perfectly. The bad news is that we broke a rear spring twenty kilometres before the end of the second stage just before the ford. We kept going and it all hung together and we had it changed at service."

Car No. 40 Jeremy Bennett

"We finished - that's the main thing. We were quick on the first section but took it carefully on God's Bridge."

Car No. 43 Tim Mammen

"We've been a bit lucky today. We had two punctures, one was in the parc ferme overnight and the other was on the road section between the two stages but we did have a self-inflicted problem after the second stage. In service we checked the suspension and unfortunately one rear wheel didn't have its nuts tightened up. We almost lost it on the main road and, in fact, we're still one wheel nut missing."

Car No. 44 Neil McGrigor

Yesterday the Escort had several problems. They had a "misunderstanding" with one of the corners in the first section which was much tighter than they thought and burst two tyres and wrote off the rims. In the second section they got stuck in the same waterhole as them team mates Bennett/Chesser and had to dry out their electrics. In the same section the back brake pipe was ripped out and they had to the last section with no rear brakes. "I didn't tell my co-driver until after the section," said McGrigor. "But today was fantastic although we now have some problems with the clutch. We took it relatively easily but we're very pleased."

Car No. 45 Geoff Bell

The Datsun 180B has pulled up six places to tenth place ahead of the car's preparer Roddy Sachs in another 180B.

"We had a very good day. There were a couple of overshoots in the first section but it wasn't a navigational error - just me driving too fast in the dust. The car's great. It's really nimble in the twisty sections and we caught the Savages in their 260Z. I'd like to do more competitive sections. I used to navigate for Vic Preston Junior in the Alfas (with Sachs as the manager) and I even remember some of the roads."

Car No. 47 Peter Harland

The brakes on the 260Z developed a problem in the second section. The pedal box rod had worked loose and the pedal became longer and longer. "We've gone through a set of tyres," said Harland. "But otherwise alright."

Car No. 50 Nick Mason

The 260Z left this morning and missed the first competitive section to try and get the rear cross member and differential fixed. They did the second section but the cross member must have broken again as they arrived at Naivasha with the wheel hanging out of the wheel arch.

Car No. 52 Iqbal Sagoo

From co-driver Jurgen Bertl: "Just 700 metres before the end of the second stage we were brought to a halt because the right rear wheel wouldn't turn. I got out of the car and it was just possible to move it forward under power so I had to run the last part of the stage. When we got the car jacked up we found that not only was the suspension arm broken but it had lost all its bolts. We fixed a couple of new ones in and have got it into Naivasha where we can now replace the whole arm."

Car No. 53 Wayne Kiesbetter and Rob Hellier

"Another good day. We just had to change the damper bushes again."

Car No. 57 Harvinder Dhanjal

"We're really impressed with the tyres we've got from Silverstone which seem to standing up to the punishment amazingly well. The only problems today was a few bolts came loose on the front suspension and now we stop after every stage and check them. Oh yes, and all our spotlights fell off the front."

Car No. 58 Michel Puchercos

"I really liked the first section: fast and good to drive. The ignition problem we had from the first day now seems to be completely solved - and we had no punctures."

[Z-point]

Hi Guus:

Thanks for the great coverage - keep it coming!!

Although the photographs thus far are excellent.... I'm sure hoping that someone will get some details of the Z's - engines, suspension, special prep items...

kind regards,

Carl

Carl Beck

Clearwater, FL

http://ZHome.com

Carl,

these are from 2005 http://www.z-pointt.nl/easlarryH.htm

[John Coffey]

And that light blue car is running a BetaMotorsports fiberglass hood! Whoo Hoo! Laurence Evans at Star Motorsports/Motormec has prepared three (I think) of the 240Zs competing in this year's event.