Sweden’s Waldegaard Holds Kenya Rally Lead

Bjorn Waldegaard of Sweden, driving a Toyota Celica GT4, held his lead after the second day of the Kenya Safari Rally today.

Waldegaard was first on the ramp in downtown Nairobi after leading 25 cars in a 387-mile race around Mount Kenya, Africa’s second-highest peak.

Mechanical failures and atrocious road conditions knocked out 33 of the 58 cars that left Nairobi on Thursday on a 712-mile first sector loop in southeastern Kenya.

Waldegaard collected two hours, 28 minutes and 11 seconds in penalty points, and had an average speed of 57.4 m.p.h.

Waldegaard took the lead at the midway point of the first sector after the engine of the Subaru Legacy driven by Markku Alen of Finland blew.

Massimo Biasion of Italy, the world champion and the defending champion in this rally, was so close behind Waldegaard that he parked his Lancia mere inches behind the Toyota on the ramp.

Biasion had two hours, 34 minutes 17 seconds in penalty points and an average speed 57.1 m.p.h.

Biasion is seeking his third successive victory here for himself and the Lancia, while Waldegaard is after a fourth. He won in 1977, 1984 and 1986.

The Italian-made Lancia, also the world and Safari Rally champion, was under pressure from the Japanese-made Subarus and Toyotas.

The four-wheel drive Toyotas and Subarus are making their debut in the Safari Rally, challenging the Lancia, winner in 1988 and 1989.

But the three-car Lancia team remained in the Top 10 spots, fending off three Toyotas, four Subarus, a Nissan 200 SX and a Mitsubishi Galant.

The 386.8-mile second sector route takes the vehicles in a loop around the perpetually snow-covered Mt. Kenya.

The route passes through slippery bends in banana, coffee and tea plantations and forests in one of the the East African nation’s most heavily populated region.

The 38th version of the Safari Rally is divided into six sectors, which in turn are split into 83 sections. Drivers are required to cover the sector in predetermined time and are awarded penalty points for every minute they are late. The seconds were accumulated in a special speed race Wednesday in a Nairobi suburb.