KWALE, Diani, Dec 2 – Safety took centre stage today at the Diani Leisure Beach and Golf Resort in Kwale County as competitors in the 2025 East African Safari Classic Rally presented their vehicles for mandatory scrutineering ahead of the start of the iconic event.
Chief Scrutineer Eric Opiyo described the exercise as thorough and essential, noting that while some cars had sailed through earlier checks, a number required follow-up inspections.
“Yesterday was an easier day for us. Some cars came in very well prepared, but a few had issues and needed to go back and sort them out,” said Opiyo. “Most of those issues have now been addressed, and today we are checking all of them to detail, including those that were pending from yesterday.”
Opiyo confirmed that each is required to meet strict safety and technical standards before being cleared to compete.
“As much as this is a fun sport, it is also a very dangerous one,” he said. “That is exactly why we are here, to make sure that even as crews go out to enjoy the rally, they do so safely. The car must be safe.”
The scrutineering process involved detailed inspection of roll cages, safety harnesses, fire extinguishers, fuel systems, braking components, suspension, and overall vehicle integrity. Even the smallest details were not overlooked.
“Most probably one of the most important parts people forget is the luggage,” Opiyo explained. “Anything loose inside the car can become very dangerous in the event of an accident, so we check everything.”
Cars that failed to meet requirements were immediately sent back for corrections and re-inspection.
“Some issues were minor, and the teams resolved them quickly. That is the whole purpose of scrutineering. It is not to fail people, but to make sure they are safe before they go out there,” Opiyo added.
With scrutineering now nearing completion, teams will turn their attention to final briefings and preparations as the rally edges closer to its competitive start. One thing is already clear: every car that takes to the Safari stages will have earned its place through one of motorsport’s most rigorous safety checks.
DRIVER QUOTES
Mark Bentley/ Ed Bentley
“Bentleys on Safari” – Ford Escort MK1
“It’s been good. We’ve been up at the coast in Watamu doing a bit of testing and trying to get acclimatized. As you can see, I’m not quite there yet with this humidity, but overall everything is going well. We’ve just arrived at the resort, and we’re looking forward to getting started on Friday morning. This is our fifth time at the Classic, so I think we’re running out of excuses. We just need to keep the car together and keep our noses clean. As long as we stay on all four wheels, keep it pointing in the right direction, he doesn’t get us lost and I don’t turn it over, everything should be fine from there.”
Jordi Pons/ Jan Rosa Viñas – Ford Escort Mk2
I am coming here for the third time. I took part in the Safari Rally two years ago, last year the Mini Classic, and this year again here. I’m driving a Ford Escort MK2. The car is almost new. The engine is completely new. It is a Pinto, made in the UK. It is 200 horsepower. It is completely new. The car looks very, very nice with the new suspension too. Good, I am very, very happy. I will test it this afternoon. Thank you.
Philip Kyriazi/ Feisal Khan – Ford Escort Mk2
We’ve been up at the coast at Watamu, doing a little bit of testing and trying to get acclimatised. As you can see, I’m not quite there yet with this humidity, but yeah, no, all good. We’ve just literally arrived down at the resort, and we’re looking forward to getting going on Friday morning. This is our fifth time at the Classic, so I think we’re running out of excuses. We just need to try and keep the car and not let it let us down. We just need to keep our noses clean, keep it on its wheels, keep all four wheels pointing in the right direction, not let him get us lost, and not let me turn it over, and everything’s going to be easy from there on.
Farhaaz Khan/ Tauseef Khan – Porsche 911
I’m trying to keep myself active and doing these many classics leading up to this one. So, it’s been good building up to a brand-new classic in a different time. In terms of the route, they’ve offered a lot of private roads, which, as a driver, is a bit of a relief. I’ll be driving the Porsche 911, and that came around when we were at my uncle’s home. It was a family get-together, and he said, You’re faster than me, so you should be driving my car. And I told him, Okay, if that’s what you think, then fine. Preparations have been coming along well, thanks to my dad, Arshad. In the last three weeks, because we made a very late decision to do this event, they have done a splendid job to get my car ready to where it is today, and hopefully it’s good enough to put on a good show.
Francois Abrial/ Michel Perin – Citroen Visa Chrono
Okay, so first time in Kenya, but with this car, the smallest car of the fleet. So let’s see if we are going to make great things with it. So it’s a strong car from the 80s, and I ran the Dakar Classic with it two years ago, so I have some reference. And my co-driver, Michel, is also very experienced, so we hope to enjoy it first but not to be the last on the list, as the numbers are showing. We are 60, and we don’t want to remain the 60th.
Harpal Sudle “Pali”
Glenn approached us to have a look at the car; he was happy with it. We tested with him in early June, which was a very simple test, running the car as it was, and he was content with the car, but we needed to make quite a few changes to it to adapt it to his style of driving. Glenn, we know, has been on the rally scene forever, with a couple of wins of the original Safari under his belt, from the WRC events and the national championship, and as a rallying fraternity, we’ve known him; my dad was one of the guys, and they were sort of in that category of people, and they rallied together, and it seemed right to kind of take them on board.
Giancarlo Davite/ Sylvia Vindevogel – Toyota Corolla AE86
It’s the first big rally for me. The first long one. It’s not the first in Kenya. We did Mini Classic two years ago. Now we are in the big one. It’s a dream of a life, I would say. Kenya is the country in the region where you have the best quality of motorsport. You have big events like the WRC Safari Rally and the Classic Rally. I brought this car from Rwanda. It was the car of Natalie Cox. She was a champion in Rwanda, and she was riding with Sylvia 25 years ago. Now the car is beautiful. We restored it. We put in good suspension. We put in quite a lot of good performance parts. I think the car will be good. Corolla. We call it Corolla. You call it Levin. They are very reliable, very strong cars. This is why we think that we made the right choice. Without going in big cars with big budgets.
Rally Route & Key Dates
Start: 5 December 2025 , at Diamond Leisure Beach & Golf Resort, Diani
Legs 1–3: Diani (Day 1) → Voi (Legs 2 & 3 via Taita Hill Safari Resort & Spa)
Legs 4–6: From Voi onwards to Amboseli Sopa Lodge , including a scheduled rest day on 9 December in Amboseli.
Final Day / Finish: 13 December, returning to Diamond Leisure Beach & Golf Resort, Diani.
