‘It’s just about you, the road and your maker’: Inside the East African Safari Classic

As an adult, Bengi leads a double life. Most days he’s a lawyer in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. But on others he trades in his legal pad for a jumpsuit and crash helmet. That’s when life comes at him fast. In a car older than he is, Bengi is willing to race for thousands of miles across some of the world’s toughest rally driving terrain, pushing himself to the very limits in the name of motorsport glory. “It’s just about you, the road and your maker,” he says.Rally driving is in Bengi’s blood as it is for many Kenyans, where the sport has deep and abiding roots. But drivers behind the wheel have not always reflected the sport’s audience. This year Bengi and his navigator Mindo Gatimu became the first all-indigenous Kenyan team to compete in the East African Safari Classic, one of the nation’s most celebrated rally events.Rally racing is experiencing a resurgence in Kenya. The WRC returned after a 19-year absence with the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya, which has since been extended through to 2026. While a stronger foothold in the international scene might take time and investment, at home Kenyan drivers are in their element and thriving.”This is our backyard,” says photographer Kirubi. “These are the roads we grew up on; the roads we used (to go) to school, to work, to the farm … It comes as no surprise that we have local drivers taking top spots within the (Classic) rally. Somebody may come with a racing pedigree from the US or Europe, but man, this is Africa — and we play it different.”