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T h e D r iv ers cont inued
The Drivers continued

Eric also admits that he is glad that the main event
Eric Bengi was postponed as the Mini Classic was a big wake up
call. He admits that, had he tackled the full nine days
in the same fashion then he and the car would not
have finished! Eric and co-driver (and chief mechanic)
Mindo Gatimu learnt a lot about the strengths and
weaknesses of their Datsun 180B and Eric has also
admitted to ramping up his fitness ahead of the
February event.

With the lessons learnt in November Eric is now
Eric Bengi Mindo Gatimu
confident of a finish and has set his sights on reducing
his seeding by half, indicating a top 15 result is his

Erics' rise through the Kenyan rallying ranks has been objective! Given his recent performance this seems a
safe bet!
rapid, to say the least. From humble beginnings in a
Landrover back in 2012 he soon moved into the two
wheel drive category, taking four podiums in a row in Geoff Bell
2014! For the next 3 years he was on the podium
every time he finished.

When it comes to passion for the East African Safari
Classic Rally few can rival Geoff Bell. From his debut

By 2017 Eric was in a four wheel drive turbo and his
pace was as quick as ever, but reliability proved an
issue. Again, when he finished, it was typically inside
the top ten and with strong stage times. And then… he
appeared on the entry list for the Mini Classic in
November.

Learning curve
Sixth overall at the end of the three day event, with no
less than six top ten stage times to his credit. Clearly
Classic Rallying suits the rapid lawyer! When we asked
Eric to describe the rally he was particularly enthused on the event back in 2007 Geoff has been a regular on
and described the event as “the best experience of my the event ever since, only missing the 2019 event
life!”. From the route, to the way the competitors because it clashed with the Roger Albert Clark Rally in
were treated by the organisers, and the comradery the UK. His best finish came in 2011 when he led at
amongst the crews, Eric was full of praise, saying that
the half way mark before finishing second overall to
this was what rallying was supposed to be about!
the late, great Bjorn Waldegaard!

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