CLASSIEST MOTOR EVENT CLOSELY CONTESTED

CLASS WINNER. The 1928 Ford Tudor of John Wroe won the pre 1940 class of the Schweppes East Africa Concours d'Elegance and was placed fourth overall.

The 2007 Schweppes East Africa Concours d'Elegance which is the classiest event on the annual motor sport calendar was closely contested with overseas competitors taking a significant share of the prizes. Thanks to sponsorship by Kenya Airways Cargo and Jubilee Insurance, the Vintage Motorcycle Club of South Africa fielded four magnificent motorcycles and came within an ace of taking the first prize from the Nairobi Racecourse to Johannesburg.

Sati Jabbal took the lead in the motorcycle judging when he won the up to 350 cc street bike class with his 1925 DKW which earned 188 points. There was no threat to Sati until Peter Posniak presented his 1934 New Imperial racing machine in the competition motorcycle class at the end of the day.

Posniak earned 188 points to tie for first place. As Sati's DKW is older than the New Imperial, he was declared the overall winner with Rick Agagliate's 1937 Moto Guzzi GTC in third place only one point in arrears. The giant 1996 Harley Davidson of Wilson Hall Graham was awarded the Sherwin Williams prize for the most elegant motorcycle.

Commenting on the overseas motorcycle competitors Michael Hughes, the Chief Judge, said, "Since the Schweppes Concours earned accreditation from the African Motorcycle Union (AMU) last year, there has been greater interest from classic and vintage motorcycle enthusiasts from outside Kenya. AMU status helped to attract the entry of the 1916 Triumph of Johannesburg based Michael Milner-Smyth. This vintage bike is the oldest motorcycle ever to appear at the Nairobi Racecourse."

Arusha based Tor Allan finished second in the class for utility vehicles with his 1956 Land Rover behind Charles Gitau who was the category winner with his 1957 Land Rover. Chris and Sandra Webb who motored from Dar es Salaam in their 1965 Triumph TR 4A had the satisfaction of capturing second spot in the over 1,600 cc sports car class which was won by the 1972 Alfa Romeo Spider of Michael Tilley. Despite the long drive from the Tanzania Coast, the Webb's flame red sports car was placed ninth overall and earned a meritorious award.

At 11.00 a.m. the 1972 Austin Mini of Vitafoam Products took the leading place for cars by registering 236 points in the up to 1,000 cc touring car category. When the judging of the class finished shortly before noon, the Phoenix Aviation VW Beetle shot into first place with 267 points. By this time children were making
good use of the bouncing castles in their free entertainment centre while adult spectators were enjoying food and drink and the music of the C-Bash band.

Sati Gata-Aura was among the four previous overall car winners competing in this year's Schweppes Concours. When his 1977 Nissan 160J was driven to the Caltex inspection ramp, seasoned Concours fans predicted that he might displace the Volkswagen Beetle from the lead. After the scores for the up to 1,800 cc touring car class appeared on the TV screens of the electronic results service competitors and spectators realized that Sati had won the class with 253 points, but the VW Beetle continued to head the pack.

The next likely overall winner was expected to be Gayling May's painstakingly restored 1967 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint. While spectators waited for the judging of the up to 3,000 cc touring car class in the afternoon, they visited the 28 motor trade stands in Auto Expo to view a wide range of new cars, pick-ups, SUVs and 4 x 4s. This informal motor industry exposition also featured lubricants, tyres, accessories and spares.

The Classic Sale attracted a constant stream of potential buyers of cars made in 1982, or earlier. The oldest vehicles on offer were a 1948 International pick-up, a 1954 Ford Consul and an Austin A30 and Ford Prefect both made in 1955. Visitors flocked around these classics and contemplated their worth as restoration projects.

Shortly after lunch all eyes turned to the sky to watch a precision free fall parachute drop by a team of sky divers who landed in the centre of the Nairobi Racecourse in front of the main grandstand. This was followed by a spectacular demonstration of a fully aerobatic model aircraft controlled by Eric Hallard from the edge of the golf park.

After a series of low and high speed runs, the powerful model aircraft climbed steeply, looped before performing a series of rolls and inverted flights over the golf course. After demonstrating the model aircraft's low speed capabilities, Eric landed his amazing machine on the edge of the golf course.

The attention of spectators returned to the Racecourse grandstands area while Gayling May drove his gleaming burgundy coloured Alfa Romeo Sprint between the judging stations. Shortly after he returned to his parking bay, the commentator declared that May had scored 250 points. This gave him first place in the up to 3,000 cc touring car class and third in the overall classification. Kamal Radia won the over 3,000 cc category in his giant 1966 Dodge Kingsway and captured the prize donated by the Winemasters for the best costume. To link with the Kingsway name, Kamal and his family appeared as Indian royalty.

The crowd flocked to the grandstands for the popular competition car class which included a 1974 Mitsubishi Lancer entered by Joginder Singh and showed by Alpine Auto parts and the 1977 Datsun 180B of Aslam Khan. Marzio Kravos scored a repeat victory in the category with his 1972 Mercedes Benz 450 SLC which he will be driving in the forthcoming East Africa Safari Classic. Rally driver Ben Muchemi paraded the 1974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV with which he hopes to finish the Safari.

After years of trying, Frank Hetimier emerged the winner of the up to 1600cc sports car class with the Alfa Romeo 1750 Gran Sport replica which he built in Nairobi. The chassis and body of the car were made in the Sametract workshop and the car has an Alfa Romeo engine, gear box and rear axle. Farook Walimohamed made a return to the Concours after several years absence to take second place in his MG TD.

With the VW beetle of Phoenix Aviation still holding top place, the only remaining challengers were the five superb "golden oldies" in the class for cars made in 1940, or earlier. The 1928 Ford Tudor of John Wroe was the top car in the Concours in 1996 and Maurice Frost's 1924 Fiat captured the crown in 1990.

Watched by a capacity crowd in the grandstands, the vintage Ford was declared the Class winner with 238 points followed by the 1934 Alvis Firefly of Simon Fisher which also earned the Sherwin-Williams award for the most elegant car at the Nairobi Racecourse. John Wroe's score placed his Ford fourth overall leaving the VW Beetle with a second successive Schweppes East Africa Concours d'Elegance title.

After the podium prize giving ceremony, the Concours crowd was entertained by Eric Wainaina and Mitch Egwang who presented an adaptation of the MTN TV "Deal, or no Deal" TV programme. The Grand finale ended with exciting dance routines featuring lavish costumes. While spectators left the Racecourse, the Alfa Romeo Owners Club Committee turned their thoughts to the next Schweppes East Africa Concours d'Elegance which will be held at the Nairobi Racecourse on September 28th, 2008

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