1977 East Africa Rally

Gone but not forgotten.

Remember Speed's predecessor, Speedvision? It actually showed interesting, topical, and historic races. Like vintage footage of F1 races of yore, with modern commentary by Sir Jackie Stewart and David Hobbs. And old rallies where men were men and cars did not have carbon fiber bits.

Here is a great example of what Speedvision aired-- footage from the 1977 East African Safari Rally. No all wheel drive. No helmets. It looks like a few of the drivers wore just polo shirts and SHORTS!

See if you can spot Jean Todt, 31 years younger, in the video. Hint: Look for the Peugeot entry.

The race is arguably the most grueling event ever conceived. The 1977 race covered 5,949 kilometers over four days. Of the 61 teams that started, only a dozen finished. So who finished?

Number 4: Andrew Cowan in a Mitsubishi Colt Lancer


Number 3: Sandro Munari in a Lancia Stratos


Number 2: Rauno Aaltonen in a Datsun 710 Violet


Number 1: Bjorn Waldegard in a Ford Escort RS1800


CKY