By OUR CORRESPONDENT
At the close of Day 6, Baldev Chager continues to assert control at the top of the overall classification of The MRF Tyres East African Safari Classic Rally, as the classic rally returned to action Wednesday after the well-earned rest day, with crews tackling three demanding stages across Kajiado County
Chager navigated by Gareth Dawe who celebrated his birthday today in a Porsche 911 finished the day with a cumulative time of 11:56:59.1. Despite facing rough terrain, animal crossings, and loose surface conditions, Chager maintained composure and consistency to protect his lead through the three stages.
Harry Hunt seating with Steve MCPHEE in their Porsche 911 remain firmly in second place on 12:13:25.2, trailing the leader by 16 minutes 26.1 seconds while Evgeny Kireev and PG ANDERSSON in their Porsche 911 hold onto third position with a total time of 12:23:04.8, just 9 minutes 39.6 seconds.
Jourdan Serderidis and Grégoire MUNSTER in their Porsche 911 Carrera SC sit fourth overall on 12:24:27.3, only 1 minute 22.5 seconds behind Kireev, underlining how tight the battle for the podium remains.
Rounding out the top five is Keith McIvor and David BURNS their Ford Escort Mk2 in fifth on 12:56:11.1, 31 minutes 43.8 seconds behind Serderidis and 59 minutes 12 seconds off the overall lead.
The competitive route covered CS13 from Isineti to Selengai, CS14 from Mashuru to Isinya Chicks, and CS15 from Limukutani to Iremito.
Earlier in the day Charlie Tuthill with co-driver Gordon Noble in a Porsche 911, set the pace on SS13 with a dominant stage win, stopping the clock at 48:25.5. Johnny Gemmell with co-driver Sukhdev Chaggar took the second stage CS14 of the day in 31:37.8 while Piers Daykin, alongside co-driver Lloyd Destro in their Datsun 280Z, delivered a commanding performance to win the third stage CS15 with a time of 56:00.4.
Tomorrow features a grueling three-stage return to Taita Hills, led by the demanding 138km CS16 from Isineti to Simba, followed by the 60.86km Ndii to Maktau stage and the 60.20km Lumo to Kudu Hill test, with endurance, tyre management, and precision expected to define the day.
Baldev CHAGER said: “We had an issue in the first stage where we hit a massive rock that was completely hidden. Luckily, there was no major damage, but it was such a big hit that I decided to take it easy for the rest of the stage just to make sure the car was okay.
The second stage was pretty good and quite fast, although there was a lot of clearing to do with animals and traffic. The top surface was also very loose, so I think we ended up cleaning the road a lot for the cars behind us.
The third stage was reasonably good as well, though it was rough and bumpy, so we took a cautious approach. There were many animals again, including herds of cows, which forced us to slow down significantly and carefully weave through them.
The challenge is always finding the right balance between pushing too hard and losing too much time, while also taking care of the car. We still have three long days to go, and tomorrow is a very long stage of about 140 kilometres, so the priority is to really look after the car.”
TOP TEN OVERALL
Pos Car No. Driver Class Total Time Gap to Leader
1 3 Baldev Chager 4 11:56:59.1 —
2 10 Harry Hunt 4 12:13:25.2 +16:26.1
3 4 Evgeny Kireev 4 12:23:04.8 +26:05.7
4 2 Jourdan Serderidis 4 12:24:27.3 +27:28.2
5 18 Keith McIvor 3 12:56:11.1 +59:12.0
6 36 Roger Hodenius 4 13:10:10.7 +01:13:11.6
7 7 Geoff Bell 4 13:15:21.3 +01:18:22.2
8 16 Roger Samuelsson 4 13:15:42.0 +01:18:42.9
9 21 Farhaaz Khan 4 13:16:04.2 +01:19:05.1
10 17 Thomas Bell 4 13:16:41.9 +01:19:42.8
