Saaji has EA Safari Rally Mini Classic lead cut after penalty

Bharij Saaji conceded his slim lead at the East African Safari Rally Mini Classic following a late penalty imposed on him by the rally stewards.

Saaji was hit with a 5 minute penalty for missing three tulip diagrams at CS4 after he took a bridge instead of river crossing as indicated in the event’s route description.

According to a report signed by the stewards the penalty was determined as per APPENDIX A- Penalties, P34, 1st Offence.

Bharij had started off badly after getting stuck in the opening stage of the day (Kapkitony – Kipsa) losing a sizable amount of time.

"Piers (Daykin) and I both went off at the same place, both of us were stuck but Piers got off before us and they came back to save us. The first stage was horrendous because after we got stuck, moments later we lost the coil and dropped quite a lot of time.

“In the second stage towards the start we broke the rear arm and overheated all the suspensions. We decided to really really attack on the last one and that seems to have helped us,” Raaji said.

Former Kenya National navigators champion Piers Daykin has been one of the most consistent drivers in the mini classic and he again ensured he was closer to the top by another brilliant show of clean driving.

Pier's consistent drive has placed him in perfect position to challenge for his maiden Mini classic win. He shed light on when he stopped to give a hand to Raaji

"We got stuck in the same corner but I managed to get my car turned around and drive out but there was no way Raaji was going out without being pulled, so we stopped to make sure he came out behind us.

“There was a lot of traffic in the second stage but we are here. The car is good and everything is good,” Daykin said.

Boldy got his groove as he recorded the fastest time in the fifth stage (Plateau -Kipkabu) clearing the 80.06km stage in just 56 minutes and 2 seconds to top the overall standings by 1 min 41 seconds.

In the last stage of day two (SS06 Metkey - Kapkiton) Dutchman Remon Vos alongside his Belgian navigator Stephane Prevot turned on style to put their Porsche 911 in the lead of the stage.

Boldy suffered a puncture in the last stage which cost him valuable time.

"Getting the puncture in the last stage has brought the competition really close but that is just how this rally has been from the start. But I quite honestly think it's a bit too rough for these cars. Today we have done 240km of just rocks, ditches, jumps and a few patches of good parts."

The two-time mini-classic champion will be hoping for a less turbulent day tomorrow, as he embarks on hunting for his third mini-classic championship against a flying Bharij Raaji and a consistent Piers Daykin.

Jonathan Somen in his iconic Ford escort MK2 had a decent run today climbing up to 5th in the overall standings, 2 places ahead of where they ranked in day 1.

Former African Rally champion Carl Tundo suffered more troubles today as he finished the day further down the order  with the all women duo of Caroline Gatimu and Tuta Mionki a place above Tundo.

Curtains will come down on the 3rd edition of the mini classic tomorrow as drivers tackle the Kipsaos-Muskut, Singore-Chebiemit and Kapsowar-Chebara stages with a finish being the bare minimum for all drivers