The 1998 Safari Rally (formally the 46th Safari Rally Kenya) was held between 28 February and 2 March 1998. It was the first World Rally Championship victory for Richard Burns and his co-driver Robert Reid after his teammate Tommi Mäkinen and fellow Briton Colin McRae both retired.

1998 Safari Rally
46. Safari Rally Kenya
Round 3 of 13 of the 1998 World Rally Championship season
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Host country Kenya
Rally baseKenya Nairobi
Dates run28 February – 2 March 1998
Stages16 (1,063.49 km; 660.82 miles)
Stage surfaceGravel
Overall distance2,339.21 km (1,453.52 miles)
Statistics
Crews49[1] at start, 19 at finish
Overall results
Overall winnerUnited Kingdom Richard Burns
United Kingdom Robert Reid
Japan Team Mitsubishi Ralliart
8:57:34.0

Report

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A total of 49 cars gathered in Nairobi for the Safari Rally of 1998. The young Briton, 27-year-old Richard Burns, won stage 1. But his more experienced teammate, Tommi Mäkinen, snatched the lead in stage 2. He was determined to win for the second time, as 1996's winner. But his hopes were dashed after his timing belt broke, causing him to retire. Burns retained the lead as a result, held it to the end, and won his first WRC rally in his career. It was the Ford Escorts of the Finns Juha Kankkunen and Ari Vatanen, both previous Safari Rally winners, who completed the podium in second and third respectively.

PWRC

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Luis Climent, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III, had his first victory of the year. Manfred Stohl finished behind him in second, and the Kenyan Paul Bailey completed the podium.

Results

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Results of the 1998 Safari Rally
Pos No. Driver Co-driver Car Time/retired Pts
1 2   Richard Burns   Robert Reid Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo IV 8:57:34.0 10
2 7   Juha Kankkunen   Juha Repo Ford Escort WRC +9:27.0 6
3 8   Ari Vatanen   Fred Gallagher Ford Escort WRC +9:52.0 4
4 6   Didier Auriol   Denis Giraudet Toyota Corolla WRC +14:26.0 3
5 11   Harri Rovanperä   Voitto Silander Seat Ibiza GTi 16V Evo2 +2:05:38.0 2
6 16   Raimund Baumschlager   Klaus Wicha Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V +2:20:01.0 1
7 18   Luis Climent   Álex Romani Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III +2:28:03.0 0
8 12   Kris Rosenberger   Per Carlsson Volkswagen Golf Kit Car +2:45:47.0 0
9 19   Marco Brighetti   Abdul Sidi Subaru Impreza 555 +2:56:01.0 0
10 21   Karim Hirji   Frank Nekusa Toyota Celica GT-Four +3:03:29.0 0

Source: Independent WRC archive[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Rally database". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Safari Rally". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
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