Daykin and Chager Locked in Close Fight of Mrf Tyres East African Safari Classic Day 2

Taita Taveta 6th Dec 2025 - The 2025 MRF Tyres East African Safari Classic Rally served up a punishing second day Saturday as crews tackled another set of three classic stages, with Kenya’s Piers Daykin and Baldev Chager locked in an intense duel. By close of day program, the pair had shared all three stage wins between them, underlining their status as the benchmark of this year’s classic rally. Piers admitted that opening the road on Day 2 came with both psychological and tactical challenges that affected his overall pace. “Coming into Day 2 with the overnight lead, I knew opening the first stage would be tough. I have a real mental block about road-opening when there’s public traffic around; I’m not prepared to risk someone’s life in a second, so psychologically it’s very difficult for me. I expected to lose time there, and that’s exactly what happened. The second stage was different: for a Datsun to win that stage against the Porsches is something I’m really proud of”. The morning’s long first stage, CS4 set the tone, with Chager attacking from the first kilometre to stop the clocks on 56:25.3, taking the stage win and slicing into Daykin’s overnight advantage. Chager reflected on how familiarity with the terrain and better road position shaped his race so far. “After two days it feels like I’ve already done eight, but I think we’re well settled in now. I know this area and these kinds of stages, and every Classic involves parts you recognize, which really helps. Today was very different: once you’re running second on the road, it’s almost perfect. You still catch the odd car or truck, but it’s not a big problem, and that lets you focus more on improving strategically.” In CS5, the second stage of the day, Daykin hit back in style. Daykin navigated by Lloyd Destro powered there Datsun 280Z to a decisive stage win in 51:32.4, with Chager just 12.6 seconds behind on 51:45.0 after another committed run. South Africa’s Geoff Bell bounced back from a tough opening stage to go third quickest. The final stage of the day, CS6, saw Daykin consolidate his authority with a second successive stage win in 45:50.3, with Chager once again right on his heels in 46:08.7. Hunt capped a consistent day with third fastest, 46:53.7, while former Formula 1 star Jos Verstappen turned on the pace to go fourth. Belgium’s Fred Miclotte completed the top five with 47:33.6, ahead of Vos and Bell, who both remained firmly in the leading group on pace. Miclotte described a mixed Day 2 marked by mechanical challenges, but also moments of pure driving enjoyment on one of the rally’s most beautiful stages. “After two days I’d say it’s been ups and downs, like for everyone. Today we had issues with the tyres, not punctures from hitting something, but overheating. On the long straights the tyres get so hot that they eventually explode, so we had to change a tyre on the stage and lost time. We also discovered a problem with the rear axle alignment, which made the car quite difficult to handle on the straights. But the last stage was amazing, such a beautiful piece of road. We really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun”. The middle test also highlighted the depth of local talent. Phillip Kyriazi delivered a standout performance to finish just outside the overall top ten on 57:51.4, while Farhaaz Khan again featured strongly with 59:31.8. Eric Bengi put his two-wheel-drive car to excellent use to clock 01:02:01.5, keeping himself very much in the hunt in his class battle. Speaking on this return to Kenya, WRC M-Sport Ford rally driver Gregoire Munster and who is navigating season classic entrant Jourdan Serderidis, shared his early assessment of how Day 2 compared to the true character of the Safari Classic. "I’ve been lucky enough to do both the sprint events and this marathon format, and you can really feel the difference. Day 1 was a bit shorter than a typical Safari day and not as rough. Today was much more what we know from two years ago: very fast sections, long legs, and then really rough parts where things start to happen. You need to be quick when the terrain allows it, but also take care of the car, because this is only Day 2 of eight really rough days. So far, so good, but it’s still early.” Overall Standings After the two demanding days of competition, Kenya’s Piers Daykin continues to lead on a cumulative time of 04:31:58.2, holding a slender but crucial advantage of 1 minute 19.1 seconds over fellow Kenyan Baldev Chager, on 04:33:17.3. In third place, Remon Vos sits on 04:45:41.3, Jos Verstappen just behind him in fourth while Evgeny Kireev completes the top five, as the Safari Classic begins to show its true endurance character. For the home fans, there was plenty to cheer. As the local drivers occupied the mid-field battles: Philip Kyriazi, Farhaaz Khan, Joey Ghose, Asad Anwar, Shakeel Khan, Basil Criticos, Glen Edmunds and Eric Bengi all bringing their cars home despite the ruts, rocks and relentless heat. Rally Route & Key Dates Start: 5 December 2025 , at Diamond Leisure Beach & Golf Resort, Diani Legs 1–3: Diani (Day 1) → Voi (Legs 2 & 3 via Taita Hill Safari Resort & Spa) Legs 4–6: From Voi onward to Amboseli Sopa Lodge , including a scheduled rest day on 9 December in Amboseli. Final Day / Finish: 13 December, returning to Diamond Leisure Beach & Golf Resort, Diani.