Safari Rally 2000
LEG THREE
Subaru
drivers Richard Burns and Juha Kankkunen dominated the final day of the
Safari Rally as they did all through the event. The Subarus proved amazingly
reliable in the extremely tough conditions of the Kenyan savannah this
year. The only scare for Richard Burns were the slight ignition problems
he had yesterday, but otherwise the Subaru worked like a clock and neither
of them picked a single puncture during the whole rally!
Carlos Sainz, who had risen to 4th position lost the power steering on the first competitive section of the final day and fell back behind the young Norwegian driver Petter Solberg. Sainz caught up with Solberg during the final stages, but on the final day Solberg, driving the third works Ford, had to slow down to let the Spaniard take the 4th position. Colin McRae's retirement on the final stage of the second leg was due to drowning of the engine on a water splash, which was allegedly made deeper than usual by the spectators who had dammed the creek crossing the road.
Otherwise than the battle over the 4th spot the final day was pretty eventless as all drivers were nursing their cars to the finish line. Burns' margin to Kankkunen remained steady as their positions must have been frozen by the team. The victory was important for Burns, especially as his main rival Tommi Makinen didn't score any points.
Didier
Auriol's third place brought a nice confidence boost for Seat after their
disaster in Sweden. The hero of the Safari, at least one of them, was
Toshihiro Arai competing in the teams' cup with a private Subaru. He finished
6th in the tough and rough competition. Both Skodas, driven by Armin Schwarz
and Luis Climent also finished the rally, although ages behind the leaders,
and scored three manufacturers' points finishing 7th and 8th.
Results of the Safari Rally:
1. Richard Burns (ENG) Subaru - 8.33.13,0
2. Juha Kankkunen (FIN) Subaru +4.37,0
3. Didier Auriol (FRA) Seat +22.44,0
4. Carlos Sainz (ESP) Ford +28.18,0
5. Petter Solberg (NOR) Ford +31.27,0
6. Toshihiko Arai (JPN) Subaru +44.53,0
7. Armin Schwarz (GER) Skoda +58.58,0
8. Luis Climent (ESP) Skoda +1.18.00,0
