1973 Safari Rally
| 21st East Africa Safari Rally | |
|---|---|
| Round 4 of the 1973 WRC for Manufacturers | |
| Host country |  Kenya |
| Rally base | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Dates run | April 19, 1973 – April 23, 1973 |
| Stage surface | Gravel |
| Overall distance | 5,300 km (3,300 miles) (with 56 points of "time control") |
| Statistics | |
| Crews | 89 at start, 18 at finish |
| Overall results | |
| Overall winner | Shekhar Mehta Datsun 240Z |
| Support category results | |
| WRC-2 winner |  Harry KällströmDatsun 1800 SSS |
| WRC-3 winner | Ove Andersson Peugeot 504 |
The 1973 East African Safari Rally was the 21st running of the Safari Rally, and the fourth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-April in central Kenya, the Safari was a markedly different rally from the other dates on the WRC schedule. About 5300 km of gravel roads comprised the course, though there were not distinct special stages as in other rallies, but instead the course was uncontrolled. The rally was considered very punishing, and thus many of the successful teams were specifically focused on it, leading to a different set of front-runners than led most other rallies. The rally was won by a local driver, Shekhar Mehta.
In 1973, and for several years afterward, only manufacturers were given points for finishes in WRC events. Like the drivers, the cars were different for Africa than for other rallies. As a result, the successful types did not mirror the results of other rallies on the circuit, and Datsun and Peugeot both made strong showings. Additionally, cars were not broken into separate groups or classes as in other rallies, so only overall results were classified. Time was not measured as the total elapsed through special stages as with other rallies, but instead a penalty was assessed at each time control for not meeting the target: total penalty time was the measure of who was in what place.
Results
Championship standings
| After round 4 | Team | Season end | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Points | Position | Points | |
| 1 | 52 |  Alpine Renault
|
1 | 147 |
| 2 | 22 |  Datsun
|
6 | 34 |
| 3 | 22 |  Fiat
|
2 | 84 |
| 4 | 20 | Saab
|
5 | 42 |
| 5 | 13 | Lancia
|
13 | 17 |
| 6 | 12 | Citroën
|
7 | 33 |
| 12 | Peugeot
|
16 | 13 | |
| 8 | 12 |  Ford
|
3 | 76 |
| 9 | 8 |  Porsche
|
9 | 27 |
| 10 | 6 | Volkswagen
|
15 | 15 |
| 11 | 5 | Opel
|
11 | 25 |
| 12 | 4 | BMW
|
8 | 28 |
| 4 | Mitsubishi
|
17 | 4 | |
| 11 | 3 |  Škoda
|
18 | 3 |
| 13 | 2 | Volvo
|
4 | 44 |
See also
| World Rally Championship |
|---|
| Last complete season |
| Support categories |
|
| Current car classes |
| Related lists |