The 2002 Safari Rally (formally the 50th Inmarsat Safari Rally) was the eighth round of the 2002 World Rally Championship. The race was held over three days between 12 July and 14 July 2002, and was won by Ford's Colin McRae, his 25th and final win in the World Rally Championship.[1] The rally was the last 'endurance' Safari Rally to take place, with a competitive distance of around 1,010 kilometres (630 mi). Following financial difficulties, the Safari did not return to the World Championship until 2021.
Background
Entry list
Itinerary
All dates and times are EAT (UTC+3).
| Date | Time | No. | Stage name | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 — 336.78 km | ||||
| 12 July | 08:23 | SS1 | Ngema — Kedong | 73.63 km |
| 10:32 | SS2 | Seyabei — Kerrerie 1 | 81.84 km | |
| 13:24 | SS3 | Nailongilok — Il Damat 1 | 74.75 km | |
| 15:27 | SS4 | Ntulele — Kedong 1 | 106.56 km | |
| Leg 2 — 410.87 km | ||||
| 13 July | 07:03 | SS5 | Kedong — Ngema 1 | 73.93 km |
| 08:53 | SS6 | Il Damat — Nailongilok | 74.75 km | |
| 11:01 | SS7 | Kedong — Ntulele | 106.59 km | |
| 14:04 | SS8 | Kerrerie — Seyabei | 81.67 km | |
| 16:18 | SS9 | Kedong — Ngema 2 | 73.93 km | |
| Leg 3 — 263.15 km | ||||
| 14 July | 07:08 | SS10 | Ntulele — Kedong 2 | 106.56 km |
| 09:26 | SS11 | Nailongilok — Il Damat 2 | 74.75 km | |
| 11:59 | SS12 | Seyabei — Kerrerie 2 | 81.84 km | |
| Source:[3] | ||||
Results
Overall
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Team | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |  Colin McRae
|
Nicky Grist
|
Ford Motor Co. Ltd.
|
Ford Focus RS WRC '02 | 7:58:28.0 | 10 | |
| 2 | 3 |  Harri Rovanperä
|
Risto Pietiläinen
|
 Peugeot Total
|
Peugeot 206 WRC | 8:01:18.9 | +2:50.9 | 6 |
| 3 | 20 |  Thomas Rådström
|
Denis Giraudet
|
Automobiles Citroën
|
Citroën Xsara WRC | 8:17:06.6 | +18:38.6 | 4 |
| 4 | 6 |  Markko Märtin
|
Michael Park
|
Ford Motor Co. Ltd.
|
Ford Focus RS WRC '02 | 8:19:56.0 | +21:28.0 | 3 |
| 5 | 21 | Sébastien Loeb
|
 Daniel Elena
|
Automobiles Citroën
|
Citroën Xsara WRC | 8:20:16.1 | +21:48.1 | 2 |
| 6 | 23 | Gilles Panizzi
|
Hervé Panizzi
|
Peugeot Total
|
Peugeot 206 WRC | 8:33:09.0 | +34:41.0 | 1 |
| Source:[4] | ||||||||
World Rally Cars
Classification
Special stages
| Day | Stage | Stage name | Length | Winner | Car | Time | Class leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 (12 Jul) | SS1 | Ngema — Kedong | 73.63 km | Tommi Mäkinen
|
Subaru Impreza S7 WRC '01 | 36:47.8 | Tommi Mäkinen
|
| SS2 | Seyabei — Kerrerie 1 | 81.84 km | Colin McRae
|
Ford Focus RS WRC '02 | 37:13.1 | ||
| SS3 | Nailongilok — Il Damat 1 | 74.75 km | Tommi Mäkinen
|
Subaru Impreza S7 WRC '01 | 44:23.6 | ||
| SS4 | Ntulele — Kedong 1 | 106.56 km | Colin McRae
|
Ford Focus RS WRC '02 | 51:00.2 | ||
| Leg 2 (13 Jul) | SS5 | Kedong — Ngema 1 | 73.93 km | Sébastien Loeb
|
Citroën Xsara WRC | 37:30.6 | Colin McRae
|
| SS6 | Il Damat — Nailongilok | 74.75 km | Stage cancelled | ||||
| SS7 | Kedong — Ntulele | 106.59 km | Richard Burns
|
Peugeot 206 WRC | 51:11.1 | ||
| SS8 | Kerrerie — Seyabei | 81.67 km | Gilles Panizzi
|
Peugeot 206 WRC | 37:22.4 | ||
| SS9 | Kedong — Ngema 2 | 73.93 km | Sébastien Loeb
|
Citroën Xsara WRC | 36:36.6 | ||
| Leg 3 (14 Jul) | SS10 | Ntulele — Kedong 2 | 106.56 km | Colin McRae
|
Ford Focus RS WRC '02 | 51:32.1 | |
| SS11 | Nailongilok — Il Damat 2 | 74.75 km | Gilles Panizzi
|
Peugeot 206 WRC | 45:26.6 | ||
| SS12 | Seyabei — Kerrerie 2 | 81.84 km | Sébastien Loeb
|
Citroën Xsara WRC | 36:35.1 | ||
Championship standings
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Manufacturers' championships | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | ||||
| 1 | 
|
Marcus Grönholm
|
37 |
|
Timo Rautiainen
|
37 |
|
Peugeot Total
|
83 | |||
| 2 |  2
|
Colin McRae
|
30 | 2
|
Nicky Grist
|
30 |
|
Ford Motor Co. Ltd.
|
69 | |||
| 3 |  1
|
 Carlos Sainz
|
23 | 1
|
Luis Moya
|
23 |
|
 555 Subaru World Rally Team
|
35 | |||
| 4 | 1
|
Gilles Panizzi
|
21 | 1
|
Hervé Panizzi
|
21 | 1
|
 Škoda Motorsport
|
8 | |||
| 5 |
|
Richard Burns
|
19 |
|
Robert Reid
|
19 | 1
|
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
|
7 | |||
Production World Rally Championship
Classification
| Position | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | ||||||||
| 10 | 1 | 74 |  Karamjit Singh
|
Allen Oh
|
Petronas EON Racing Team
|
Proton Pert | 10:27:55.2 | 10 | |
| Retired SS12 | 52 |  Marcos Ligato
|
Rubén Garcia
|
 Top Run SRL
|
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | Suspension | 0 | ||
| Retired SS11 | 57 | Toshihiro Arai
|
 Tony Sircombe
|
Spike Subaru Team
|
Subaru Impreza WRX | Clutch | 0 | ||
| Retired SS8 | 71 | Stefano Marrini
|
Tiziana Sandroni
|
Top Run SRL
|
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV | Suspension | 0 | ||
| Retired SS3 | 53 | Alessandro Fiorio
|
Vittorio Brambilla
|
Ralliart Italia
|
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | Suspension | 0 | ||
| Source:[6] | |||||||||
Special stages
| Day | Stage | Stage name | Length | Winner | Car | Time | Class leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 (12 Jul) | SS1 | Ngema — Kedong | 73.63 km | Marcos Ligato
|
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | 50:41.1 | Marcos Ligato
|
| SS2 | Seyabei — Kerrerie 1 | 81.84 km | Marcos Ligato
|
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | 47:32.0 | ||
| SS3 | Nailongilok — Il Damat 1 | 74.75 km | Karamjit Singh
|
Proton Pert | 1:00:37.2 | Karamjit Singh
| |
| SS4 | Ntulele — Kedong 1 | 106.56 km | Marcos Ligato
|
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | 1:02:57.9 | Marcos Ligato
| |
| Leg 2 (13 Jul) | SS5 | Kedong — Ngema 1 | 73.93 km | Toshihiro Arai
|
Subaru Impreza WRX | 50:19.4 | |
| SS6 | Il Damat — Nailongilok | 74.75 km | Stage cancelled | ||||
| SS7 | Kedong — Ntulele | 106.59 km | Toshihiro Arai
|
Subaru Impreza WRX | 1:05:58.0 | ||
| SS8 | Kerrerie — Seyabei | 81.67 km | Karamjit Singh
|
Proton Pert | 46:43.5 | ||
| SS9 | Kedong — Ngema 2 | 73.93 km | Marcos Ligato
|
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | 46:31.2 | ||
| Leg 3 (14 Jul) | SS10 | Ntulele — Kedong 2 | 106.56 km | Toshihiro Arai
|
Subaru Impreza WRX | 59:53.0 | |
| SS11 | Nailongilok — Il Damat 2 | 74.75 km | Karamjit Singh
|
Proton Pert | 1:03:50.3 | Karamjit Singh
| |
| SS12 | Seyabei — Kerrerie 2 | 81.84 km | Karamjit Singh
|
Proton Pert | 45:15.9 | ||
Championship standings
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | |
| 1 | 1
|
Karamjit Singh
|
24 |
| 2 | 1
|
 Ramón Ferreyros
|
20 |
| 3 |
|
Toshihiro Arai
|
12 |
| 4 |
|
 Gustavo Trelles
|
12 |
| 5 |
|
Kristian Sohlberg
|
10 |
References
- ^ "Safari Rally". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Safari Rally 2002 Entry List". ewrc-results.com.com. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Safari Rally 2002 Itinerary". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Safari Rally 2002 Final Results". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Safari Rally 2002 WRC Results". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Safari Rally 2002 PWRC Results". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
