This archive report was first published on 30 November 2019.
Heavy rains in Arusha, Tanzania, brought the East African Safari Classic Rally to a halt on Day Three, November 30, 2019.
The rally organisers made the decision to cancel the day's action after an overnight deluge made the stages critically unsafe.
According to a bulletin from the rally organisers, 'Day three has been cancelled after an agreement by the majority of the crews, this was due to adverse weather conditions making the stages critically unsafe.'
Kenya's Onkar Rai now leads the event in his Porsche 911, followed by Austria's Kris Rosenberger in a Tuthill Porsche, and former Classic and 1984 WRC winner Swede Stig Blomqvist in third place.
Earlier in the day, Baldev Chager stormed through five stages first before his Porsche stopped abruptly due to a gearbox problem.
He failed to meet the deadline to start SS6 as the car was being worked on.
Italian Queen of Rally Fabrizia Ponz described the weather as 'terrible', saying 'We can’t do anything about it. This is a very true safari but we have to bear in mind the safety of the cars and the people and everybody in it.'
Former winner Swede Stig Blomqvist said the weather was 'just bad luck for everyone', adding 'Normally you don’t expect this kind of rain and weather at this time of the year.'
The fourth day of the rally will start at 7am on Sunday, with cars tackling the Kifaru1/Mwanga, Same1/Mkomazi1, and Old Korogwe1/Magazoni1 stages before spending the night at the Popatlal School.
