Chager maintains lead, eyes second Classic Safari Rally title in three years
Baldev Chager pilots his Porsche 911 SC in a tight bend in Taita to finish second overall on Day 2 of the East Africa Classic Safari Rally on December 8, 2025.
What you need to know:
- Chager leads the chasing pack by a margin of 14 minutes and 30.3 seconds.
- The East African Classic Safari Rally ends on Saturday at Diamond Leisure Golf.
Baldev Chager is 834 kilometres away from clinching his second East African Classic Safari Rally title in three years.
Chager, navigated by Gareth Dawe in a Porsche 911 car, on Thursday tactically defended his overall lead for a third consecutive day. He will now lead other crews out on the final leg to Mombasa on Friday, with glory within sight.
After a relatively relaxed rallying since last Friday, Chager stayed in the lead, posting a cumulative time of 14 hours 28 minutes and 11.7 seconds over the 3, 200km rally that began on December 5.
Chager leads the chasing pack by a margin of 14 minutes and 30.3 seconds. The chasing pack is led by Harry Hunt and Steve McPhee in a Porsche 911, followed by the crew of Evgeny Kireev from Cyprus and his navigator P. G Andersson from Sweden who are 31:28.4 minutes behind Chager.
M-Sport Ford crew of Greek journeyman Jourdan Serderidis and Gregoire Munster are fourth, some 43 minutes and 8.5 seconds behind.
Three competitive stages
The day was largely uneventful for the crews who battled searing heat, thick dust, and a brutally dry course that is a stark contrast to the muddy terrain which troubled crews in the 2023 edition.
Hunt made his presence felt by winning all the three competitive stages. He opened with a 138km sprint from Ndii to Simba, edging Chager by 36.5 seconds, with South African Geoff Bell another 54.5 seconds behind. Hunt then narrowed the gap further by claiming victories on the Ndii Maktu and Lumo Kudu sections.
Saturday’s itinerary remains demanding. The crews will tackle the 80km Ziuwani Sataita leg, followed by the 50km Teita Pumphouse Teita Dairy stretch, and finish the day on the 107km Mariwenyi Mwatate route.
The final marathon will see them push through the 109km Mariwenyi-Makinnon section, the 76km Kushashu-Agro stretch, and the 71km Vigurungani-Mwachanda sectio, then head to the finish line in Mombasa.
The Classic ends on Saturday at Diamond Leisure Golf. It is the final event in the Kenyan motorsport calendar for 2025. The new season starts next year with the WRC Safari Rally from March 12 to 15.
