The inaugural Rally Round Africa rally saw the crews at the wheel of a 1929 Chrysler 75 and a 1972 BMW 2002 Touring reign supreme at the Cape Town finish line. Canadians David and Barbara Berks took the former to an overall win in the Vintage category, while Australia’s Steve and Ruth Lambert claimed the Classic category honours in the 2002.
Organised by Rally Round, 26 crews took part in the four-week adventure, which combined historic motorsport with the adventure of global travel. Starting in n Dar es Salaam, the mix of classic and vintage cars journeyed some 6700km through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, and Swaziland, as well as South Africa.
While David and Barbara took the overall category win, awards were given to the top three in the Vintage Class. Top spot went to Laurie and Pam Lyford in the 1938 Chevrolet Fangio Couple, who were also presented with the Spirit of the Rally accolade. Neil and Alex Lawson-May came second in the 1935 Buick Sedan, with third place going to Chris and Kathy Grace in the 1938 Chevrolet Fangio Coupe.
In the Classic Class for Pre-1966 cars, Claudine Bloom and Andrew Twort secured first place in the 1965 Volvo 122 Amazon, with Chris and Judy Beighton’s 1965 Ford Mustang in second. The 1955 Morgan Plus 4 of Jeremy Holden and Victoria Oliver secured third place as well as the Against All Odds award after suffering multiple mechanical breakdowns but never giving up day after day.
In the Post-1966 cars Class, first place was awarded to Johan Gitsels and Walter Op T’Roodt in the 1973 Porsche 911. Second place went to Lorenzo Castellini and Paolo Melloni in the 1973 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super, while third was Alastair Caldwell and Rachel Christodoulou in the 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL.
The final awards were presented to the winning team which went by the name ‘Team Austang’, comprising of Alec and Barbara Hammond and Chris and Judy Beighton, both in 1965 Ford Mustangs, and Steve and Ruth Lambert in the winning BMW. There was also an award for Gary Anderson and Harry Dobrzensky, who won the ‘Hire Car’ category a the Ford Ranger!
Event Director Liz Wenman said: “Our first adventure across Africa was a huge success both on the road and off. As well as special tests and regularities, our competitors enjoyed six safari drives along the way and visited stunning reserves and national parks, where they got up close with Africa’s famous ‘big game.’ It was a great mixture of competition whilst making sure the crews also got to enjoy the fantastic surroundings.”
Thanks to the popularity of this year’s event Rally Round has already announced a second Africa adventure is planned for 2021 with entries already being reserved. The next event is in April 2019, when Rally Round will take a group of experienced rally crews on the high-altitude Trans-Himalaya Adventure through China, Tibet and Nepal. Visit www.rallyround.co.uk for more details.
