RTG Gazette - Third Ed - WEB - Flipbook - Page 7
Tsavo, Amboseli, the Masai Mara the Ngorongoro Crater, and the incomparable Rift
Valley. A three-day trip to Tanzania was also included which allowed the crews
to appreciate the wild beauty of the Serengeti. Twelve Regularities and nine Tests
provided the competition whilst a selection of safari drives and balloon flights
allowed some welcome downtime.
These Regularities and Tests were held across a variety of private estates and the
competitors were grateful to the vast estate of Lord and Lady Delamere for giving
them a memorable day of competition over some 30km of zebra strewn grassland
and bush, with almost nothing by the way of landmarks or features to make sure
that the trip meter was reading correctly. This really was flying on instruments and
the only vague confirmation that you were on the right track was the dust of the
previous car, hanging in the air.
The equally enormous Teita Hills Estate, often called ‘the spiritual home of East
African rallying” also gave up its jungle tracks and trails for the greater good and in
fact it was here on the final day, over one Regularity and two Tests that the overall
results were decided.
After a single slip up by Gavin and Diana Henderson dropped them off the
leaderboard, the very vigilant Keith and Norah Ashworth took the overall win with
a last gasp effort through the muddy and dense sisal plantation, which saw their
vintage Bentley hold off a late charge from the thoroughly modern (all things are
Keith Graham & Susan Hoffman
We made so many good friends, both
with competitors and the support crew,
who were exceptional despite the daily
challenges.
Jean-Phillippe Tripet
I’d love to have another 3,000km to go,
I really loved it, the people, what we
saw along the road and the ambiance
within the group. It would be really
cool if we could go for another three
weeks but unfortunately, life isn’t that
fair.
Marjan Quekel
I’ve always dreamed of going to Africa
and being with such a club is a dream
come true, so joining the rally wasn’t a
hard decision.
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Keith Ashworth
It’s been an unbelievable event with
so many great people alongside us.
No matter what you put yourself
through or put the car through
there’s great camaraderie and so
much fun. It’s an amazing feeling to
pull into the finish and to have done
so well as overall winners.
relative) Porsche of Lars and Annette Rolner. Gavin and Diana were philosophical
and gracious whilst the Ashworths were delighted.
This was the first ever Endurance Rally victory for them and, reflecting upon
it during the moonlit prize giving dinner back on the shore of the Indian Ocean,
Keith said “to take this win means such a lot, it’s our first ever endurance rally win,
and we did it because I’ve got the best navigator”. He also went on to tell us that
“a Bentley’s power to weight ratio is all
power and lots of weight, knowing how
to control these two forces is what
makes the difference”.