Waldegard wins Safari in Tuthill Porsche

28th November 2011

By Anthony Peacock

Bjorn Waldegard, the inaugural World Rally champion in 1979, has become the first person to win the epic Safari Rally with a Porsche 911, run by British specialist Tuthill Porsche.

The Swede was co-driven by his son Mathias throughout the nine-day marathon, which took in torrential rain and deep mud over the toughest roads in Kenya.

"We had a cruising day today and some of the sections were rough like hell so we didn't put in an attack," said Waldegard, who lost time in the early stages of the rally after colliding with a truck. "I'm very glad to be here and very, very glad to have won the rally. Mathias has done an absolutely brilliant job."

Datsun driver Geoff Bell was second, 35 minutes behind Waldegard, ahead of another former World Rally champion: Stig Blomqvist in a Ford Escort.

Tuthill Porsche director Richard Tuthill said: "Bjorn and Mathias both did an amazing job, and the car didn't miss a beat from start to finish. Just getting to the finish of this marathon is a massive achievement in itself. Bjorn's victory is a testimony not only to his undiminished skills, but also to the performance of our car and the Race4Change charity, which has partnered with our team this year."