AFTER days of relentless competition across some of Kenya’s most unforgiving terrain, British duo Harry Hunt and Steve McPhee emerged triumphant on the final day of the East Africa Safari Rally, delivering a measured, intelligent, and ultimately decisive drive to secure overall victory.

For London-based Hunt, expertly navigated by McPhee from Pant y Dŵr, the win in their Tuthill-prepared Porsche 911, running on MRF Tyres—the event’s title sponsor—marks a symbolic changing of the guard at one of the world’s toughest historic rallies.

Their success ends the reign of Eugenio Amos and Paolo Ceci, champions in 2023, and signals the rise of new contenders at the pinnacle of this iconic event.

The pair completed the rally in 19:48:06.4, sealing their place at the top of the provisional overall standings.

Behind them, Cyprus’ Evgeny Kireev and PG Andersson, also in a Tuthill Porsche 911, delivered a consistent and resilient performance to secure second overall in 20:12:05.8, just under 24 minutes adrift. Greece’s Jourdan Serderidis rounded out the podium in third with 20:50:54.8.

Spanning nine days and covering 3,200 km of gravel roads, the Kenyan event is designed as a brutal test of speed, navigation, and endurance.

Crews are only given access to the route on the eve of the start, adding to the challenge.

Beginning in Diani on the south coast, competitors headed north over four days to the foothills of Kilimanjaro, paused for a rest halt on day five, before blasting south again over four more days to the finish back in Diani.

Hunt and McPhee’s campaign began with drama: a gearbox failure in the opening section left them limping out of the stage stuck in fourth gear. The team, however, replaced the gearbox in record time, allowing them to rejoin the fight.

Over the next two days, blistering pace was tempered by tyre issues. A thorough suspension check and adjustments during the rest halt solved the problem, and from then on the Porsche set a string of fastest times, climbing to second place.

By the penultimate day, they had whittled down Baldev Chager’s lead to 14 minutes. A decisive navigation error from Chager then handed Hunt and McPhee a massive nine-minute gain in a single stage. With several fastest times added to their tally, they entered the final day just 4 minutes 54 seconds off the lead.

The showdown promised fireworks across the last three stages.

Eighty kilometers into the opening test, the pressure finally told: Hunt and McPhee rounded a treacherous right-hand bend to find Chager’s car wrecked, rolled out of contention in spectacular fashion. After confirming the Kenyan crew were unharmed, the British pair pressed on, blasting through the remaining stages to clinch victory by over 21 minutes.