Bob Dewar: Elegant old man of the ‘Concours’ celebrated

Hard work and persistence pay, and there could be no better a person to illustrate this than Bob Dewar, founder of the Concours d'Elegance 50 years ago.

This car beauty competition, at the beginning attracting only Alfa Romeo owners to determine the best well maintained car, later opened up to other models. You will hardly find an Alfa Romeo in Kenya these days, but Dewar’s project continues to grow.

The competition attracting vehicles and motorcycles, some dating back to the early 19th century, is one of the most important social gatherings annually, always held at the Jockey Club of Kenya’s Ngong Race Course in the outskirts of Nairobi.

The oldest car dates back to 1919. These cars have on several occasions been hired for major Hollywood movies shot in Kenya, like Out of Africa, White Mischief, Constant Gardener and Kitchen Toto.

Rally drivers were also invited to enter their cars in previous editions, with the Lancia Rallye 037 of Vic Preston Junior winning in one of the editions in the 80s after winning all the 12 rounds of the rugged Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC).

Dewar is one of the pillars of automobiles in Kenya. He may look slow and frail, but his heart is as strong as that of a young person.

His efforts have not been in vain because on Thursday last week, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) invited him for the annual awards ceremonies which saw Max Verstappen crowned the Formula One world champion.

Dewar won the “FIA Founding Member's Club Heritage Cup,” drawing a warm round of applause as he slowly walked onto the podium, bowed a bit and slowly walked away, cuddling his trophy like a proud father.

Perfect family day outing

Dewar later told me that the FIA chose to send the trophy to Nairobi through courier service because “it was too heavy” for the old man.

The Concours d’Elegance remains the pillar of automobile history in Kenya, attracting entries from all over Africa with a Land Rover once used in the James Bond movies shipped to Kenya for a previous edition.

The Concours d’Elegance is spiced with side events related to motor trade where local franchises of major motor manufacturers use the event to unveil latest models. Apart from agricultural trade fairs, the Concours is always the perfect family day outing where booze is limited, where the youth enjoy themselves, and are back home before sunset.

There is a rich history and heritage of cars and rallying in Kenya where Dewar is a major source of knowledge and inspiration.

Dewar’s dalliance with rallying dates back to the 60s. He was one of the most listened to Voice of Kenya (VOK) radio commentators as he gave hourly updates on radio in English with Sammy Lui and James Ogoma King doing the Kiswahili version.

The Safari then was one of the most followed annual events in East Africa and Dewar would sometimes offer live broadcasts from a helicopter following the cars.

The Heritage Cup belongs to Kenyans whereupon Dewar continues to play a very important role.

Dewar is also a pioneer Public Relations PR practitioner of which his firm, Bob Dewar Publicity, is one of the oldest firms in the country leaning towards sports.

Sports journalists can attest to Dewar’s persistence and consistency, always focused on any assignment at hand, never demanding but always having something for publication on a “dry day.”

The organisers of the FIA annual awards had done proper background work in profiling the Concours, beaming a short video clip of previous editions with a deliberate effort to showcase the Jockey Club Ngong Race Course and Nairobi’s skyline, effectively a new avenue to market Kenya internationally.

Dewar and the Alfa Romeo Owners Club cannot work alone for this long without the input of the government, starting with the Nairobi County Government which has left the original Mayor of Nairobi limousine to continue to rot at the Fire Station.

Kenyans should also bring out old machines to sustain this legacy.

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