The final day of the East African Safari Classic 2011 began at Voi Wildlife Lodge, with three short competitive sections to complete the rally.  Today, team eCar were on form, taking the first section with ease and Arron even had time to show some local children how to play rugby…

Another clean run in the second section and on to complete this enormous, epic journey…

The exhilaration of completing this rally for each driver must be overwhelming.  Mixing with the mass of grinning faces back at the Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa felt electric, seeing the drivers and crews swapping stories, demonstrated the sense of pride all round.  Finishing the world’s greatest endurance rally is a feat within itself. 

The team has raised a substantial amount of money for Alive and Kicking and what a fabulous charity it has been to work for – the smiles on the children’s faces when they have a ball in their hands is wonderful and knowing what a difference this has made in Kenya makes it all worth while.

Many, many congratulations to Arron Banks and Tim Chesser, it’s been a privilege to follow this journey with you.

With a brighter start and a small fuel top up, team eCar headed for the Ngong View this morning for the first competitive stage. A drive of 70 miles was needed before entering it, which would have been easily achieved if one of the car’s wheels hadn’t decided that it was going to remove itself from the car and saunter off down the road on its own.  A couple of spritely (okay, hugely surprised) locals managed to catch the wheel and return it to Tim and Arron.

A quick fix from the service crew and the team was in the stage, pelting along a feisty track covered in volcanic dust.  The team worked its way up the ascent of 30 miles, without incident.

The next competitive stage was the local attraction of the rally, a full spectator stage as it was based in a quarry. Onlookers saw the cars zoom around the section twice, providing a full five minutes for each car.  The beams on Arron and Tim’s faces - I think they enjoyed that one!

Off to run the Emali stage next, with high speed jumps all the way to the end. The team had a good run, but others were not so lucky; one had a zebra jump out in front of them which caused severe damage.

After a mad rush along the infamous Nairobi/Mombasa road, team eCar completed this stage in the dark - a quick 12 miles in seven minutes.

To give you an idea of the distance covered in this rally, Arron and Tim drove 249 miles between competitive stages and 117 in competition.  And this is just one day of nine….

With an exhausting day six completed, team eCar headed from Naivasha , through Nakuru and on to the first timed stage of the day.  The rain continued to pour for most of today, which didn’t make the drive easy.  In fact, as it was Arron’s turn to drive, Tim had to get out and push the car on two occasions, which was most unfortunate as it meant he was the one that got dirty shoes!

A quick pitstop and team eCar was back on the road again, but not after a few final checks, with some local children desperately trying to get in on the action; but of course, this is what this journey is all about…

The team is hoping to raise £100,000 for Alive and Kicking, an African social enterprise that manufactures sports balls to provide balls for children, create jobs for adults and promote health education through sport. Based on the principle that trade, not aid, can help communities in the long term, Alive & Kicking’s workshops in Kenya and Zambia are run as not-for-profit businesses and sustain themselves through sales revenue.  If you would like to donate, go to: http://www.justgiving.com/Brightsidegroup.  We’ve raised some money, but need more.

After being suitably rested, the cars were on the road again today, albeit under quite different conditions.  As soon as it was light, the heavens opened the rain started.  Not just the typically English downpour, but a torrential, black curtain of rain covered the sky.

The top cars in the pack headed into stage one, but stuck major difficulties when flash flooding stopped them in their tracks. Luckily for team eCar, the stage was closed before they could get in, so Arron and Tim leapfrogged many competitors and made it to stage two without trauma.  

 Our (almost expert) drivers made stage two with ease and pushed through to finish stage three, amidst the torrents of flooding now bursting rivers and flooding roads.

Many were not so lucky and the stories of cars nearly being swept away were chilling. This is not a rally for the fainthearted.  Team eCar now sits in 37th position out of the 45 remaining cars.

Commencing the day from Mount Meru Hotel, Arusha, the team headed north towards the Tanzanian border.  The 124km stint included twisting hairpin bends and fast roads at the bottom of the Rift Valley. 

The drive of course was not without excitement as eCar had to be pulled out of the mud a couple of times, one of them encompassed a serious financial negation with another Masai tribe, to help remove a treestump that the team had managed to get stuck on!

The pitstop in Longido gave the service crew time to make a few minor(!) adjustments and team eCar was back on the road again for the second section; crossing the border and on to a rough 87km drive.

Tim and Arron headed straight into the third section, with a quick stop to refuel before finishing the day with a 112km dash.  As mentioned before, eCar raising money for Alive and Kicking, and this stop really demonstrated what the charity is all about….

Thursday is rest day for the crews, a time to relax and recuperate after the first few days.  The total mileage done to date is 2,400 miles, the equivalent to driving from Land’s End to John O Groats a couple of times, on dirt track.

On a personal note, I am in absolute awe of Arron, Tim and every other driver on this rally; I’m travelling with the service crew which is utterly tiring for me, so to drive a classic car, with no mod-cons, constant mechanical difficulties and navigate some of the world’s most difficult terrain – I take my hat off to you all.  Rest well gentlemen and ladies and bloody well done.

The team started the day with a 154.44 km dash around Arusha, a seemingly smooth trek around some of the country’s most spectacular scenery.  But after a thrilling start, the team took a slight detour and lost some time

Fighting back, eCar took the next section with gusto along a road track (of sorts) that winds its way up to a Tanzanian village called Karatu. All was going incredibly well until drama struck again and the team hit a ditch and rolled over once again.  This time the damage was worse; the steering rack on the car had been wrecked and it took the boys all their effort to get the car to the service stage.  I am pleased to report that both Arron and Tim are once again only shaken from the experience.

Today ends with the eCar team at 41^st, but considering the conditions the team are still doing incredibly well.

Setting off at dawn from Amboseli National Park, the team today raced across the Tanzanian border and to Arusha.

The first stage saw the team wind their way around the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, through the villages and into the mud. There has been rain for a few days, which caused the track to disintegrate to a mud bath. Many cars were stranded, either having sunk down one side of the road or hit volcanic rocks at high speed, which of course, causes damage in volcanic proportions. Now the team is experienced in rolling the car, today’s tumble caused only a mild stirring, in fact the team is still wondering how they managed to roll over and end up facing the other way!

Arron and Tim also had fun trying to free the eCar from another mud pit, but this time had help from a local Masai tribe. Fortunately they were still carrying a few Alive and Kicking footballs with them which made a great way to say thank you.

Arron said, “on the first section we saw a lot of water and sand but we definitely weren’t on the beach.  We managed to go round the river at the end of the first section but then couldn’t find the road and ended up on a dry river bed where we got stuck in the quick sand. The Masai pulled us out but then we hit a rock and broke both steering arms! The second section was nice and we had no problems.”

After substantial repairs from the fabulous service crew, team eCar has finished 39th today Time for a well earned rest before the next 6.00am start….

The drama of the day started before crossing the start line, eCar was ten minutes late as it would not start.  Arron and Tim frantically looked over the car and realised that the fuel pump connection was lose.  Thankfully the team made it over the start line….with just three seconds to spare. 

The first stage of the event took them through the dizzy bustle of Mombasa to the lush Kenyan countryside. After an exciting first stage through African bush land, the car was serviced on the side on the road – an interesting experience in the infamous Nairobi Mombasa highway.

The next we saw the team was at the start of a time controlled section.  Again, a hugely challenging and adrenaline fuelled section which had the team beaming on reaching the service point.

Drama continued to prevail on the last section of the day when the car rolled. Thankfully both chaps were only shaken by the experience and nothing more.

We’re delighted to report that team eCar completed the first day in 34^th place, out of the 46 cars that started.  Well done team eCar!

After passing the scrutineering and ceremonial start took place in Mombasa.  The ceremony was an incredible sight, with all cars having their moment on the podium start.  Here’s eCar’s…

The crowds were full of energy and enthusiasm – thousands of people lining the streets to see the cars under the tusks in Moi Avenue.  The rally has always been a exciting event in East Africa and this year proved to be just as popular.

Yesterday didn’t quite go according to plan, so the incredible mechanics on our team have worked tirelessly late into the night to get eCar absolutely perfect for the race.

With a little trepidation, the team returning to the scrutineering bay at 9.30am this morning and after a thorough inspection, we are good to go!

More later….