In a come-from-behind win, driver Ian Duncan piloted his 1967 Mustang to victory at the 2009 running of the East African Safari Classic Rally. Duncan suffered an electrical failure during one of the late stages of the rally, but managed to repair the car in the field and storm back into the lead ahead of Bjorn Waldegaard, a former race winner in a Datsun 260Z. This marks the first ever win for a Mustang in rally competition.
The 351 powered, four-speed shifted 1967 Mustang was the only burly V8-powered entry in the race and was competing against dedicated rally cars. Duncan, a noted international rally racer built the car himself and obviously did a fine job as the only real gremlin, after bounding through the desert for days, was the electrical problem during stage eight and a clutch issue earlier in this ten-day, punishing race.
You can read the story of Duncan’s great victory here. Score one for the good guys!
