David Williamson during an interview in Mombasa County on February 12, 2018.
Legendary rally navigator David ‘Dave’ Williamson who died on June 16, 2026 in Nairobi has been described as one of the most intelligent navigators in the history of the World Rally Championship (WRC).
Legendary rally drivers Patrick Njiru, Ian Duncan and Alistair Cavenagh, as well as fellow navigator Abdul Sidi, remembered Williamson, who passed away in Nairobi 10 days ago, as an astute navigator.
Williamson navigated some of Kenya’s greatest drivers, including David Horsey and the late Johnny Hellier, to some of the most historic wins in the region.
Duncan said Williamson’s memory would forever be etched in his heart, as he reminisced about how they had won the 1994 WRC Safari Rally in a Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD.
“That was the last time a Kenyan crew won the Safari Rally as a WRC event,” recalled the six-time Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) series winner, who won once with Williamson in 1995.
“He was one of the cleverest navigators I ever had in the cockpit. He made excellent instant decisions,” said Duncan, who attributed his success in rallying to Dave and another rallying legend, the late Peter Hughes.
Hughes won the 1964 Safari Rally, then known as the East African Safari Rally, and passed away in September 2012.
Duncan said he had known Williamson since the early 1980s, when Williamson partnered with another legendary driver, David Horsey, to win the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) in 1984 in a Peugeot 504 pick-up.
Rally driver Ian Duncan (right) and his navigator David Williamson pose with their Toyota Celica dubbed "Flying Sausage," ahead of the 1994 WRC Safari Rally.
Williamson and Horsey reigned supreme at the Rallye du Rwanda and the Zimbabwe Rally Challenge in 1994, affirming their continental motoring prowess.
Prior to this, Williamson had navigated Patrick Njiru between 1989 and 1990, finishing ninth in the 1990 Safari Rally before going on to secure KNRC series victory that same year. Together, they secured the 1990 Jamhuri Rally and Sanyo Kenya 1000 Rally titles.
Williamson partnered with Cavenagh during the 1999 season, which marked the end of his active rallying career after he sustained a severe back injury following a heavy landing at the 1999 Equator Rally.
Cavenagh went on to win the 1999 KNRC title with his new co-driver, Crispin Sassoon.
Williamson swiftly transitioned to leadership, serving as the brilliant Clerk of the Course for the Safari Rally from 2003 to 2006.
“He was a patient navigator and a great loss to the rallying industry,” said Cavenagh.
Williamson navigated Hellier to victory at the Malindi Rally and the IAS Nairobi Kenya Rally in 1986. He was the Clerk of the Course (COC) for the Safari Rally from 2003 to 2006, during which time he campaigned for stricter roll-cage and structural vehicle rules to be enforced at Africa Rally Championship events, in order to protect drivers and their navigators.
He was also a factory manager at the Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) Limited plant in Miritini, Mombasa. It was during his tenure at AVA that AVA-built rally pick-ups made their mark on the regional rally scene.
In 1984, under his stewardship, AVA developed a Peugeot 504 pick-up car with which he and his co-driver David Horsey won the ARC title after victories in the Rallye du Rwanda and the Zimbabwe Rally Challenge.
The FIA homologated the car as a Group B rally car once it had met the necessary mechanical and structural requirements.
Williamson died aged 83 after a long illness.
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