East African Safari Rally; A True Team.

Husband and wife team, Paul and Mary-Ellen Kane, have a truly democratic relationship. Not only will they share the experience of the Kenya Airways Safari Classic together, but they will also share the wheel of their Mustang GT 350H.

Both of them are big classic motor sport fans and both of them like to drive Their first event was La Carrera Panamericana in 1989 in a 1954 Jaguar XK 120. At the time they lived in Florida so they drove the XK 120 down to Southern Mexico, finished the event on the Texan border then drove back home again. Prior to this they had no motor sport background, just a fondness for old cars. But as Paul says “the bug bit and there was no going back”.

They competed in the Panamericana for another five years, including a year where Mary-Ellen also entered her 1957 Porsche 356. However they found that getting two cars prepared and keeping them in the rally made things a bit more “complicated” so, on the whole, they tend to enter just one car in the longer events and share the driving. “Since we both prefer to drive, we alternate driving every other day,” they say. “We´re both out to have fun and navigating is more stressful. But we get along well in the car. The main issue is full trust in both directions, no matter which one of us is in which seat.”

So what happens if something does go wrong? “Usually, we don´t both suffer brain fade at the same time,” says Paul. “But when we do we try not to point fingers. Whatever goes wrong, we both did it...we´re both there, together in the car. When that doesn´t work, it´s simple...she´s right and I´m wrong!”

Over the years they´ve done so many historic events they´ve lost count. Amongst the most memorable have been the Inca Trail, The Shield of Africa and World Cup Rally London to Dakar. The couple have owned the Mustang since 1993, and in 1994 they brought it from the USA to England to compete in the Classic Marathon. After that event it never went back and, two years later, the Kanes also moved to England. In 2005 they entered the Safari Classic, but unfortunately they had to retire due to mechanical problems. This time around they´re hoping for a better result but, above all, they plan to enjoy the event “We´re there to have the best kind of fun you can have in a car and we´ll see how it goes from there.”


» Pressrelease från Safarirallyt, www.eastafricansafarirally.com.

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