Super Africa Rally
 | |
| Category | Rally raid championship |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Region | Northern, Western, Central, and Southern Africa |
| Inaugural season | 1961 |
| Classes | 5 |
| Drivers | 100 |
| Riders | 200 |
| Teams | 50 |
| Manufacturers | |
| Tire suppliers | Pirelli P · Michelin M |
| Current champions | #29 Team Dangote roster |
| Makes' champion | Ford |
| Official website |
sar |
 Current season | |
The Super Africa Rally (SAR, /sɑːr/; French: Super Rallye d'Afrique, SRA)[c] is a cross-continent, multi-stage, long distance endurance rally along the western coast of Africa. Taking place between Tangier, Morocco and Cape Town, South Africa, the competition runs through 21 countries and over 14,000 kilometers of road. It is the longest regularly organized motor race of its kind, having run every year since 1961, excluding 2020. The rally is organized by the Libertan National Motorsports Organization (LNMO), coordinated and managed through the Rally Motorsport Union of Africa, and regulated by the FIA. The competition is organized into a three-week period, each day the contestants have to average roughly 750 kilometers. Contestants race against the clock, but penalties can result in the first car to cross the line not being declared the winner. Crossing the finish line first results in a Championship trophy, whilst winning by fastest overall time results in the Cup of Africa trophy. Crossing the finish line first as well as winning by fastest overall time is referred to as a “super-swing”, awarding the winning team with both trophies. The competition is unique among similar large-scale rallies as it requires four persons per participating car, two drivers, one mechanic and one navigator.
Racing is permitted between 9 am to 5 pm; this time is known as the racing schedule. Driving outside of the schedule is only permitted if contestants have not yet reached their checkpoint. Doing so results in a penalty by adding the amount of delayed minutes to the team's time.[d] Racing is done on public, sometimes highly trafficked roads. According to the SAR Accords, signed by each participating country, contestants are exempt from all speed restrictions as long as they are able to maintain control of their vehicle.[e] Once the last car in the race has left a country, the roads of said country are no longer considered to be part of the active raceway, and can therefore return to ordinary road policing.[f]
Most of the route of the Super Africa Rally is based on its non-televised, enthusiast counterpart and predecessor, the Great West Africa Rally, inaugurated in 1946. In order to avoid local instabilities, the route of the rally has been subject to numerous alterations throughout the years. The rally has changed significantly since its inception, starting out as a comparatively small competition, with a total of ten teams. Most of the viewers were Libertan, and coverage was made by radio, switching to deferred live television in 1979. In 1986, the number of participants was increased to 25 teams, and again to 50 teams in 2003. In 1994, the televised program was reorganized to feature constant live broadcasting and made frequent use of action cameras mounted on top of and inside the cars. The rally has increasingly diversified, both in drivers and spectators. In 1983, Ghanian Kacely Yeboah was the first black African to participate as a driver, and in 2008, the South African Gugu Zulu became the first black African to achieve a super-swing victory. As more African drivers participate, the rally has gone from a mostly Libertan and Western European audience to roughly 90% African spectators. Contemporarily, the Super Africa Rally garners over 280 million non-concurrent television viewers per season, being among the most watched events ever. The final day is regularly the most watched, with estimates ranging over 100 million watching. The SAR is credited with having contributed to local African interest in motorsport, acting as a multicultural social event across borders, as well as facilitating improved diplomatic relations between African countries. The rally has also drawn criticism and controversy over the alleged promotion of dangerous driving, increase in pollution, neocolonial bribery and influence peddling. Several safety precautions have been introduced following repeated accidents involving participating rally cars, pedestrians, and other cars.
History
Background
The rally is largely based on its non-televised, enthusiast counterpart and predecessor, the Great West Africa Rally (GWAR), which was inaugurated in 1946. This rally ran from Ceuta in Morocco, to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. It was not professionally organized, and participants stood for their own car, housing, eventual costs, and helped fund the rally itself. It was among the first long-distance endurance rallies of its type, and was very rudimentary in its execution. It was not considered a public event, though the results of the rally were widely circulated in Libertan newspapers at the time. A similar rally, the Algiers-Cape Town Rally, ran across Africa and was organized between 1951–1961.
One of the participants in the 1958 Great West Africa Rally, Libertan business magnate and eccentric Harold Granius, was fascinated with the rally, but viewed its execution as far too elitist and antiquated. He consulted the Libertan National Motorsports Organization (LNMO), of which he was a member, about the possibility of conducting a similar competition, but to a professional degree. The organization did not seriously consider his idea, which it viewed as far too "ambitious" and "bombastic", until he managed to win support from the neocolonialist African Interest Bureau (AIB), which had connections to the Libertan government. Granius spent the next two years traveling and visiting various foreign dignitaries across western Africa. During the early 1960s, the last colonies in Africa were granted independence. Granius viewed this tumultuous time as ideal for leveraging political favors in order to achieve the materialization of an African rally. He reportedly managed to convince many African governments by branding the rally as a Pan-African idea, bringing a "modern form of sport" into the hands of the newly emancipated Africans.
Granius initially wished to call the rally the "West Africa Rally", but found the abbreviation of "WAR" to be problematic. He instead settled on the name "Super African Rally" (later changed to "Super Africa Rally"), taking advantage of the cognate super also existing in the French language. Together, Granius, other members of the LNMO, and fifteen dignitaries representing the coastal countries along the west African coast met in Lagos to deliberate on an agreement. Together they drafted the Super Africa Rally accords, which each country was to sign if they agreed to be a host of the rally. In total, 15 independent countries were signatories, along with the United Kingdom (on behalf of Gambia), Portugal (on behalf of Guinea-Bissau and Angola), Spain (on behalf of Equatorial Guinea), and South Africa (on behalf of Namibia). In addition, Liberta was also a signatory, through the the LNMO. This brought the total number to 20, and by June 1961, all countries had ratified the agreement.
The first rallies
Preparations had occurred during the months prior to the ratification, and the race was officially inaugurated on 6 July 1961. Running through the rebuilding of Agadir in the face of an earthquake the year prior, it provided moral support to the still recovering city. In total, ten teams participated, two of which failed to complete the race; the race cars used were of three types, the American small-block Ford Falcon, the German Volkswagen Beetle, and a Swedish Saab 96. The Falcons suffered reliability problems, as its suspension was designed for the smooth highways of America. Similarly, the Beetles suffered from transaxle related lubrication issues, though this occurred in the lags legs of the race. The Saab faced major cooling issues and transmission difficulties stemming from a weak linkage system. The rally relied heavily upon the preexisting support network of the Great West Africa Rally, despite Granius' intention of not doing so. Furthermore, the LNMO lacked the leverage to ensure that the signatories would clear public roads for the rally, and as such, the rally ran concurrently to regular traffic. The dangers of this would later be discussed by the parties in 1969, leading to the 1970 amendment to the accords, ensuring that countries were responsible for clearing traffic from the section of track that was used during the racing schedule. The race was also rerouted to avoid the aftermath of the Strike in Baixa do Cassange, in Portuguese Angola.
In comparison to the predecessor, the Great West Africa Rally, Granius intended for the rally to be as visible as possible. He frequently flew to the cities which the rally would run through beforehand, and attempted to garner public interest in the race. However, despite his efforts, the primary audience of the rally was in large part expats of the colonial nations which had ruled the newly independent African nations. In order to fund the race, Granius and the LNMO struck advertising deals with various companies, sticking their logotypes onto the cars. The cars would be depicted in commercial paraphernalia such as postcards and sold in Western European countries. Despite his vision of an African rally where the native population were spectators, he found that they were generally uninterested in such an obscure annual event, with a major exception in the Key cities of the rally; the Key cities were cities which the rally had to pass through, and the race saw considerably more native spectators there, as local politicians were eager to amass crowds to the modern automotive spectacle. Granius also managed to gather a sizable crowd for the finale in Cape Town. At that time, the only existing trophy of the race, the Cup of Africa, was handed out in a ceremony in the harbor of Cape Town.
The 1962 rally brought the stability of repetition, as well as insights from the 1961 inaugural event. The cars were standardized in their equipment, with major modifications to suspension and structural components. Individual team sponsorships were introduced instead of a universal monetary arrangement, and the race was officially sanctioned by FIA, which brought access to news agencies, and in turn, public attention. Major cities were sectioned off for the race beforehand, drawing the curiosity of locals, and an elaborate starting ceremony in Tangier brought international press to cover the start of the race. Much of the public-relations successes were masterminded by friend of Granius and LNMO member John Paccius, who created SAR-PR, the public relations division of the rally. The race featured the Citroën 2CV Sahara Edition, the Mark I Austin Mini, and the Ford Falcon. The Citroën 2CV won the trophy, and several of the participating cars were rendered mechanically unable to finish along the race.
In 1963, the rally was further changed with the introduction of the racing schedule system, which stated that all contestants must travel a given distance each day (a so-called "section"), meet up at the stopping point, and depart at the same time the next day. Paccius had pushed hard for such a system to be put into place, as he found it problematic how several contestants did not arrive until hours or even days after the victor had crossed the finish-line, wanting a nice photogenic finish. The initial schedule stated that contestants must depart at 7:00 am and arrive no later than 11:00 pm, with the stopping point located some 500 kilometers away. The limited road network at the time made this a great challenge, as the team's mechanics were flown across the African continent to Key cities, where they would await the car for repairs. They were not available at all stops, leaving the team riding in the car to fix any mechanical faults that occurred along the road. The 1963 race featured the Mark I Ford Cortina, the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Peugeot 404, the latter of which won the trophy.
The infamous Maader run, the section between Namibia and Cape Town, is perhaps the greatest automotive spectacle known to man. Here the bruised teams of the competition become one with the machine they have traveled with for almost fourteen thousand kilometers. Nowhere else, in no other competition, does the mouth of a man water like the prospect of winning the Championship Trophy. You have been enduring a proper hell for three weeks, and what do you have to show for it? Nothing, unless you clench that opportunity.
—Jeremy Clarkson, automotive journalist
The implementation of the racing schedule system also presented another issue, namely that a team could perform poorly on all but the last section, finish first and thereby win the entire race. Teams complained that the system created a lack of motivation and made the race boring to watch for the spectators, since there was no reason to drive aggressively until the very end of the championship. High-performing teams were also dissatisfied with starting at the same point as poor performing teams, claiming that the race in that sense became unfair. To fix this, the 1964 rally introduced an overhaul of the prizes awarded. There would now be two trophies instead of one, the Cup of Africa would be awarded for the best performing team on average across all sections (i.e. the team with the quickest finish on average), whilst the new Championship Trophy would be awarded to the first one to cross the finish-line in Cape Town. The new prize system made the race more entertaining to watch, as teams were eager to constantly perform well every day of the rally, in order to improve their average time ranking. The new system also brought a wave of attention to the last section of the race, running between the Namibian border and Cape Town; teams were perhaps the most competitive in this section, as they pushed their battered cars to their absolute limits at the prospect of winning the Championship Trophy. This section has become known as the "Maader run", with maader being South African slang for something great or spectacular. The 1964 race featured the Mark I Ford Cortina, the Peugeot 404, the Saab 96, and the Volkswagen Beetle. A Saab 96 won the Cup of Africa, whilst a Ford Cortina won the Championship Trophy.
Faced with conflicts
Beginning in the late 1960s, the rally was faced with an increasing number of violent conflicts in the countries which hosted it. The intensifying Portuguese Colonial War and the insurgencies of the South African Border War were serious threats to the championship. It also forced the LNMO to conduct a careful balancing act, as it was weary of the event being labeled as "imperialist" or subjected to terrorism by the guerrilla movements. In order to rehabilitate the race's perception amidst the anti-imperialist sentiment felt across many African states, Granius made two major decisions. The first was to endorse his friend and apprentice Sertor Margai as his successor in the LNMO, and the second was the creation of the Internal Security Force (ISF). Granius felt that Margai, a dark-skinned native of the Libertan protectorate of Ila and skilled diplomat, would be able to better represent the rally in the face of scrutiny by African dignitaries.
Margai's first cause of action was to help establish the Rally Motorsport Union of Africa (RMUA) in 1964, as he felt that the somewhat arbitrary nature of the SAR accords could easily lead to instability between the states. The RMUA would be an intergovernmental organization, with all member states being represented, including Liberta through the LNMO. The ownership rights to the Super Africa Rally brand would be transferred from the LNMO to the RMUA, with the profits of the rally distributed evenly to all the states; Margai theorized that the prospect of profit would be sufficient in ensuring that the African nations would continue supporting and allowing the championship to take place. It also worked to counteract the idea of the rally as neocolonialist. The LNMO was dissatisfied with this arrangement however, as the rally was a valuable trademark. In light of this, he managed to settle on an agreement with the rest of the RMUA; due to the lack of resources and competence to run the competition within the RMUA, the LNMO would organize the rally, whilst the RMUA would act as a board of oversight, having the final say on all major decisions. The LNMO could still use its branding for the rally, in conjunction with the RMUA. It was decided that the RMUA was to be headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. Margai also established the FCR, Fonds pour les Communautés Rurales (Rural Communities' Fund), a sister organization which rewarded cooperative local communities with resources in return. Since most emancipated ex-colonies were politically unstable and relied heavily upon local support, the FCR was used to gain popular support of the rally in the communities which it ran through.
The now venerable team Maison de Citroën (lit. 'house of Citroën') entered the 1965 rally and upon the request of rally driver René Cotton, received the at that point vacant #1 number. The team entered with a Citroën DS, which won the first ever super-swing, marking the start of a long line of successes for the team. The rivalry between the DS and the Mini Cooper, already established in the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally, also unfolded in the 1966 SAR rally, where both cars competed. Taking place in June, only a few months from the Monte Carlo controversy in January, the race brought attention from those who were hoping for a Mini revenge. The 1966 rally ended with a Cup of Africa win for the Mini Cooper, and a Championship Trophy for the DS. However, rally driver Paddy Hopkirk driving the victorious Mini remarked that the near month-long experience was "hellish by the end of it".
The Gambia would join the RMUA in early 1965 following its independence, resulting in the departure of the United Kingdom from the organization. The colonies of Portuguese Angola and Portuguese Guinea were considered especially difficult to run through, as the protracted conflicts resulted in somewhat odd choices of roads in order to avoid guerrilla forces. Margai was reluctant to request outright military protection from Portugal, as that could politicize the race, and in turn, jeopardize its future. Instead, he convened with the RMUA and transferred the newly created Internal Security Force from the LNMO to the RMUA. The ISF was deployed in Angola and Guinea in order to protect the race teams and the places where they slept overnight. The ISF acted mostly as a security firm rather than a true military force. The decision to deploy it was controversial with Portugal, but an agreement was reached following the assurance that the force would not be publicized. In 1968, following its independence, Equatorial Guinea became the second independent member to join since the Gambia in 1965. However, in spite of the instability surrounding the race, it also benefited from the 1968 decision to begin televising the race at a wider scale; the results of the race and limited footage was broadcasted in Liberta as early as 1963, but the 1968 decision contributed to over a twenty hours of total footage from that year's race.
1970s
The 1970s were equally tumultuous for the rally, as Portugal was failing to keep the conflicts in Angola and Guinea under control. The 1973 oil crisis was detrimental to the rally, though not to the 1973 race as the embargo was announced in October, three months after the race had concluded. Maison de Citroën was nearly decommissioned due to financial troubles and it at one point appeared as if the 1974 rally would not occur. The economic impact of the embargo was not rooted in the access to petroleum itself however, as only a few of the RMUA states were affected. Instead, the financial downturn of the 1973–1975 recession resulted in a lack of interest on the part of sponsors of the race. Sponsorship prices were halved, and several teams lacked a major sponsor, resulting in the cars from 1974 often being referred to as "barebodies". However, the oil crisis also caused the rally to resort to driving the mechanics along the route instead of flying them to a select few stops along the entire race. A system was devised which would sort the mechanic team into two teams, with each team servicing at every other stopping point, a system which is still employed today. Harold Granius passed away in early 1976, and was honored with a one-minute moment of silence before the starter pistol was fired in Tangier.
There was also some deliberation on how the RMUA would handle the Guinean-Bissau declaration of independence on September 24, 1973, as Portugal still represented the nation in RMUA. The RMUA voted to maintain status quo, which it held until April 1974; following the Carnation Revolution, it unofficially conducted deliberations with the Guinean-Bissau government, which granted it permission to run the rally. In September of that year, when Portugal granted independence to Guinea-Bissau, it officially became a member of the RMUA. Angola was granted membership following its independence in November 1975. The low-intensity Western Sahara War resulted in the deployment of ISF troops along some points of the race in Western Sahara. In 1979, the rally began being broadcasted using deferred live television, and the RMUA, under the direction of LNMO representative and chief executive Sertor Margai, implemented a system of broadcasting rights. The RMUA hired over 50 cameramen to document the rally as it unfolded, and sold the footage to various international bidders.
In 1977, tragedy struck the race, as a young woman was killed by a car crash involving the Ford RS1600 rally car of #8 Team Durand-Auclair. The woman was later identified as 23-year old Kanjinga Lokonga, who had been walking home after collecting water in a nearby village. The scheduled track ran along the road between the village of Mbungu Menga and Nsona Mbata. The car had lost traction in a sharp turn, and struck her head-on. The team had panicked and despite being wounded themselves, attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation but failed to bring her back to life. The nearest stopping point was roughly 200 kilometers away, and as such one of the drivers drove back to Nsona Mbata to get help. The #1 Maison de Citroën team later arrived to the scene and drove to the stopping point to alert the rest of the oversight team of what had occurred. The race was halted for one day as all ten teams attended the funeral of Lokonga. It was continued the next day, and #8 Team Durand-Auclair ended up winning the Championship Trophy, in what was described as act of solidarity by the other teams. Durand-Auclair donated the prize pool to her family and disbanded the team. Maison de Citroën was awarded with a special mark of courage, after helping to alert the rest of the oversight team. Lokonga's death sparked a debate surrounding the integrity of race, and RMUA responded by tightening driver safety regulations and making a two week defensive driving program which was mandatory for all teams to attend.
The significantly higher speeds of the cars warranted a change in the racing schedule, which the RMUA did in 1974, increasing the length of each section to 600 kilometers, and lowering the racing schedule time from 16 hours to ten hours, running between 9 am to 7 pm. This increased the average lowest speed per hour from 19 km/h to 37 km/h. Meanwhile the Alpine A110 would see an early success in the 1970s, but the Ford Escort RS1600 remained prominent from 1972 until 1975, when it was intermittently dethroned by the Lancia Stratos, despite the Stratos suffering from reliability issues. In 1975 however, the economy was improving, and the race could return to its previous levels of profitability. The crowd favorite Alpine A110 won the Cup of Africa that year, but lost the 1976 rally to Ford RS1800, which would also win the next year. In 1978, the #3 Rallye Peugeot team's Peugeot 504 achieved a much publicized super-swing victory and once again brought the French rallying tradition to the top. This victory would spur French interest in the race, contributing to new, bigger and more lucrative sponsorship deals. The French would continue to dominate this decade, with a similar Rallye Peugeot victory in 1980 and 1984.
1980s
The 1980s saw several overhauls and various attempts at modernization of the rally. The RMUA established the charitable Africa Rally Driver's Academy in 1980, which was tasked with helping to foster a generation of native African rally drivers. In 1983 the Ghanian Kacely Yeboah was the first black African to participate as a driver, driving for the British #7 Team Ford. The team system was also overhauled in 1986, instead introducing 15 new teams, bringing the total number of competitors to 25; Margai had remarked at the increasing amount of investment into the ten existing teams, seeing a 250% increase in capital over the course of three years. He stated that the change continued in the legacy of Granius, aiming to create a race open to all. The new 25-team system also brought with it stricter requirements for car specifications. There were very few requirements before 1986, with cars of all different sizes and engine capacities being able to partake in the race; the reasoning was that the 14,000 km distance worked to negate any differences between the cars, and that the wide variability also balanced the cars since they required differing tactics. Though it did not limit engine capacity, the RMUA would standardize tires, roll-cage bars, headlights, and equipment inside the car.
The new standardization also led to the obligatory modification of many bespoke rally cars to fit four passengers such as the Lancia Delta HF with two rear seats added only for the SAR, whilst cars such as the mid-rear engined Lancia Delta S4 and Ford RS200 would not be eligible for the race. Previously two-seater cars had been popular with some teams, as the sacrifice of two teammates could be made up for in the extra power and better overall performance of two-seaters. It also restricted the teams to all use the same fuel, unleaded 96 octane RON. The designs of the car livery were also standardized, and a new logo for the rally was introduced. These changes aimed to both modernize and make the rally more appealing to advertisers and sponsors. The demise of the highly popular "golden age of rallying" Group B-type cars in 1986 as a result of several accidents in the World Rally Championship caused many fans to turn to the Super Africa Rally, as it lacked the more stringent safety regulations of the WRC; Group B cars effectively survived in the SAR for several years after they were banned in the WRC, though Group A cars also partook as early as 1987.
At the same time the race was also being increasingly questioned by some European journalists and policymakers, as the injustices of apartheid became public knowledge; South Africa was a RMUA member and was able to reap great benefit from the rally finale in Cape Town, though the actual financial impact it had on the country was negligible. Some questioned whether the rally could be, or indeed was used as a way to evade the international sanctions which were put on South Africa due to apartheid. Margai, despite strongly opposing the apartheid system, refused to let the event become "a victim of politicization" and staunchly maintained his commitment to run the race to Cape Town.
1990s
In 1990, the newly-independent Namibia was awarded RMUA membership, and the reigning chief executive of the rally, Sertor Margai, announced his successor to the board of the LMNO. His successor, Jean Peltier, was of Cameroonian origin and had previously worked as an organizer for the RMUA and a rally enthusiast, and was the first non-Libertan to be nominated for the position. The LMNO was initially skeptical, but was eventually persuaded and Peltier assumed the position of chief executive in late 1990. Peltier vowed to continue in the footsteps of Margai and Granius. Peltier, convinced that the European rally audience was comparatively limited, presented his plans for the rally to instead increasingly aim itself at an international, primarily African audience. After concerns from LMNO, he reiterated that the rally would continue to expand globally, not just toward Africans. Peltier oversaw the addition of car-mounted action cameras in 1994, teaming up with Aerial Video Systems (AVS) of Burbank, California, to produce a universal camera solution for all the participating cars. AVS had previously created the NFL "helmet cams", debuting in 1991. AVS developed the LiveCam system similar to that of the helmet cams, it shot 720p high-definition video at 30 frames per second, which it, via a broadcasting device on the roof of the car, broadcasted to satellites, in turn transmitting the video feed to a central video processing center in Accra, Ghana. RMUA reached a partnership with Libertan DAC to broadcast the LiveCam footage, and to implement it into a racing studio-style format, with live commentary from racing journalists and commentators. It also reached a broadcasting agreement with SABC, which was eager to find new content.
In 1996, Peltier announced the "Economic Africanization Strategy", a financial tactic to broaden the rally's appeal to native Africans. He found the strategy to be a necessary step following the 1994 South African election and the structural reforms many sub-Saharan countries implemented. The increasing stability and economic liberalization gave way to the fist large sponsorships from African companies (excluding South African ones). In 1998, a new deal was struck with SABC rival e.tv, which premiered the highlights-format; e.tv only had airtime available for an hour of the race, and as such it compiled the funniest, most dramatic, and entertaining clips of the race into a studio highlight reel, which it called RallyNite. This format was highly successful, as few new viewers were interested in following the race every hour in comparison to a weekly short summary. The program was also credited with introducing the rally to casual fans, as the hosts used simplified terminology and explained the race as it occurred.
The RallyNite format was so successful that RMUA purchased the rights to the program outside of South Africa and Namibia in 2000, which it then sold to various domestic broadcasters across Africa. It also commissioned e.tv to produce a French-language variant titled Soirally. RallyNite was later cited by Peltier as "instrumental" in popularizing the rally to African audiences. As the rally became increasingly famous throughout the 1990s, a long-form program featuring rolling live footage from the entire race was introduced in 1998 and sold to various sports channels. Though popular with devoted fans of the race, the format's viewing numbers have been largely negligible compared to RallyNite, albeit peaking at the start and finish of the race, maintaining relatively high viewership throughout the entire Maader run.
The popularity of the television coverage of the race brought new sponsors, an increasingly diversified audience, and made it viable for drivers to become SAR-exclusive; drivers had since the beginning of the race also competed in other rallies, and later, mainly in the World Rally Championship. This was mostly due to the financial constraints, as it was not economically feasible for drivers and teams to only compete in the month-long annual event. The increasing budgets of the late 90s incentivized many members of the top-performing teams to entirely dedicate themselves to practicing and honing their skills for the rally. This also resulted in to the growing perception of the Super Africa Rally as a completely different form of rally to the industry-dominant WRC, turning it into a serious competitor. The media also contributed to this perspective, as programs such as RallyNite portrayed the SAR as a combination of motorsports and entertainment, with a focus on the struggles and conflicts between team members, drawing inspiration from the prominence of reality television. This stood in stark contrast to the more traditional sports coverage of the World Rally Championship.
The Group B-style cars would begin to be phased out by the mid-90s, as the spacious sedans of Group A became increasingly popular. They also proved to have an overall better performance, since they compensated for smaller engines by having better handling and traction. The Mitsubishi Galant VR-4, Lancer Evolution series, Subaru Impreza WRX, and cramped Ford Escort RS Cosworth proved popular in this era. The late 1990s, from 1995 to 1998, were known as the "Great British Brawl" due to the high level of competition between three different British teams, #2 Team Prodrive, #4 Team M-Sport, and #5 Team Ralliart. The three teams dominated these years, with at least two of the teams winning either a Cup of Africa or a Championship trophy every year, along with maintaining a fierce and bitter rivalry between each other. The period garnered the rally increased attention in the United Kingdom, especially among British fans. Despite being dethroned by French #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport in 1999, #4 Team M-Sport won the Championship trophy, and #5 Team Ralliart was successful in winning the Cup of Africa in 2000.
2000s
Following the departure of #1 Maison de Citroën in 1986, the team would return in 1998, and won the Cup of Africa in 2001 with its highly successful Citroën Xsara. Simultaneously, #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport won the Championship trophy that year, and the 2000s would see French teams win numerous times. The 2002 championship saw the victory of two British teams once more, #2 Team Prodrive and #4 Team M-Sport. In 2003 Peltier and the RMUA made the decision to expand the rally for a total of 50-teams, along with the introduction of the class system. The change was the single largest overhaul of the race since 1986, when the then 10-team race was expanded to 25 contestants. It resulted in a significant increase in sponsorship for various teams, along with the first clear division of teams based on seniority. The decision to base the system of team seniority rather than through skill-based qualifiers was controversial, though the RMUA assured that the system was administrative and had little effect on the ability for a team to win. The system made it significantly easier for interested sponsors to establish which team they would endow, and in the long-term resulted in sponsors maintaining their sponsorship for longer periods of time.
The expansion would see more privateers and novel teams winning either trophy, with privateer teams winning in 2004, 2005, and 2006. #48 Team Dakar became the first E-Class team to win the Cup of Africa trophy in 2006, which was seen as an upset victory and widely popular with spectators and fans. In 2008, racing driver Gugu Zulu made history as the first native black African to win a Super-slam for the South African #15 Team Shuttleworth. His win was widely celebrated and drew increasing numbers of fans from South Africa. The following year, the Batswana #16 Team Pula won an unexpected Championship Trophy with the mechanically troubled Suzuki SX4. The victories of native African teams has been regarded as widely influential in increasing viewership figures even further in Africa.
Format and structure
Due to the idiosyncratic origins of the race, conducted far from the rallying traditions of Europe, the terminology of the championship differs considerably from that of other rallies. What is otherwise referred to as the itinerary is called the schedule in the SAR. The ceremonial start and finish is just referred to as the start and finish, whilst the start and finish points of each day are referred to as starting- and stopping points. The stages are referred to as sections. Legs are not the same as in other races, here legs refer to a collection of sections spanning thousands of kilometers.
Start, finish and points
Traditionally the teams of the competition will travel with their car in a caravan from the Spanish enclave Ceuta, at the tip of Morocco the day before the race. Despite the racing cars lacking legal permission to travel on public roads outside of the rally, this tradition is nonetheless maintained on a unsanctioned basis, with Spanish and Moroccan authorities providing some form of police escort. The teams often use this caravan as a way to drum up support in anticipation of the start the next day. The start of the rally officially begins in the town of Tangier in the northernmost region of Morocco, on the 6th of July. The race has commenced with the firing of a starter pistol at 9 am precisely since its inauguration in 1961. The official starting line has shifted along the years, but all cars start in the Medina of Tangier, and exit through the entrance gate to the old city. Once out of the small and crowded roads of inner Tangier, the cars quickly pick up speed as they enter the N1 highway, which they follow for the remainder of the race in Morocco.
Since the introduction of the 5-class system in 2003, the semi-professional E-Class teams are at the front of the starting line, both in Tangier and throughout the remainder of the race. They are followed by increasingly venerated classes, with the A-class teams starting last. Each class starts with a one minute interval, as such A-Class teams start four minute later than the E-Class teams. This is done with the expectation that the highly seasoned higher-class teams will overtake the lower teams, and to provide them with a higher level of competition. Since these extra minutes provided to the lower teams are not compensated for, E-Class teams have a total of 76 extra minutes across the total championship compared to A-Class teams. However, the head start of lower-class teams are generally insignificant, since high-class teams broadly outperform their lower-class competitors.
Points
Given that one of the two trophies, the Championship Trophy, is awarded to the best performing team across all sections, the SAR has implemented a system to calculate the best average time. The time of arrival to the stopping point of the day is first converted to the time it took for the car to complete the section. That result is in turn converted into a point system, wherein one point represents one hour, followed with minutes converted into two numbers, followed by base-10 decimals of two. As such, a result of 4 hours, 36 minutes and 51 seconds would be 461.42 points. Every day of the championship, the points of all previous days are combined and divided by the number of days to achieve an average time for each team respectively. That way, spectators and teams can observe which teams are in the lead for best average time throughout the championship. Whilst the points system is officially used, it is common for observers and media outlets to instead calculate the average time as is, without points; thus the aforementioned example would be shown as 4:36:51 instead of 461.42 pts.
Classes
The competition involves 50 different teams, split into five classes for a total of 10 teams per class. These classes are in turn defined by seniority, with A-class, the most prestigious of the five, hosting teams that have participated in the rally the longest, and are in turn considered most likely to win the rally. The classes run from A to E, with E-class consisting of newcomer and semi-professional teams. Per tradition the E-class is the first off the start line, followed by D, C, B, and finally A-class; the praxis is intended to both ensure a fairer game, but also to keep the A-class teams sharp, and thereby create a more entertaining race wherein the higher class teams can "hunt down" and overtake the lower class teams. Though all classes compete for the same trophy, the system allows for upsets to occur, such as when E-class #48 Team Dakar won the 2006 Cup of Africa.
All A-Class teams have a significant amount of dedicated fans, in part due to their venerability and stable commitment to the competition, year after year. The A-Class is in turn often unofficially divided into the "top five" and "bottom five", with the top five having been likened to "rallying royalty", these teams are (in order of team number): #1 Maison de Citroën, #2 Team Prodrive, #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport, #4 Team M-Sport, and #5 Team Ralliart.
| Class | A-class | B-class | C-class | D-Class | E-Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Professional | Professional | Professional | Semi-professional | Semi-professional |
| Seniority | +15 years | 10–15 years | 5–10 years | 2–5 years | 0–2 years |
| Avg. odds to win
Cup of Africa |
>40% | ~30% | ~17% | ~8% | <5% |
| Avg. odds to win
Championship Trophy |
~25% | ~20% | ~20% | ~20% | ~15% |
Teams
Each team chooses its own name, but is provided with a team number by the RMUA; the rules state that all teams must officially be referred to by their team number, then their name, such as #4 Team M-Sport. The team number is sectioned off by class, with A-class receiving numbers 1 through 10. It is customary to name the team with the title "Team" before the name. Most teams choose a car manufacturer to purchase from (partner with), though most manufacturers also concurrently run a team of their own, known as the "house team". If a manufacturer's house team withdraws from the competition they may officially partner with a chosen team to race on behalf of the manufacturer, such a team is referred to as a "yard team". Each team is permitted two cars, a regular car and a backup car. The rally runs on what it refers to as a "last-case only policy", which means that a team is only permitted to use the backup car if all else fails; a team of SAR inspectors authorize the decision beforehand. The restriction to a single backup car also affects the race, since teams have to choose a strategy of whether and when to keep the backup car at the start or stopping point; if a car experiences a severe crash and is unable to be mended, the backup car must be driven to the stranded team and only then are they permitted to continue. Teams must posses a combination of skillful planning and luck, betting on the risk of the team experiencing a collision toward either the beginning or the end of the track. Teams which have transported their backup car to the stopping point only to have the car in use crash near the starting point must not only transport the backup car to the stranded team, but must also make up for the time wasted later in the race.
Team groups
The team is divided into three groups, "machine", "service" and "crew". The machine team all travel inside the car and are not replaced unless an emergency has occurred preventing the entire team from finishing the race. It consists of two drivers, one navigator, and one mechanic. The driver who is currently operating the vehicle is referred to as "active", the other is referred to as "inactive". The active driver sits in the front left seat, the navigator sits in the front left seat and guides the driver. The mechanic sits in the rear right seat so that they can leap out and get to the hood of the car quickly without getting into traffic, the inactive driver sits to the left of them.
The service team provides mechanical service to the car along the stops, and it is further divided into Service 1 and Service 2 due to travel constraints; each service group repairs the cars at every other stop, with either group traveling to the next stop to await the arrival of the car. This means that each team has a service group at both the starting and stopping point of the day; once the car has arrived to the stopping point, the service group at the starting point travels, through the night, to the next stopping point.
The crew is responsible for all other activities, including marketing, spare cars, and transportation. It is usually led by the team owner or, in their place, the team organizer, who is responsible for making all major decisions, including what the machine team should or should not do. They are also responsible for the racing strategy of the team at large.
Team numbers
The team numbers provided by the RMUA will often change on an annual basis for the vast majority of teams, however, virtually all A-class teams maintain their number. This is both due to top seniority, A-class teams have participated in the rally for the longest period of time out of all classes; but also due to the number's importance in the branding of the teams. Perhaps the most revered number, #1, was allotted to Citroën in 1965, before numbers were based on team seniority. The house team of Ford was the first to practice number inheritance, with the number for #4 Alan Mann Racing being transferred to #4 Ford Team RS upon its debut in 1968. In 1971 #1 Maison de Citroën requested the RMUA to grant it advertising rights for its team number, which it subsequently did. Following the death of team manager René Cotton, his successor and wife Marlène Cotton ensured that the team number became synonymous with Citroën itself. Most numbers continued rotating to various teams, and it would take until the 1980s for a considerable number of teams to maintain their number by request to the RMUA. Following the exit from the World Rally Championship in 1986 by Citroën, it subsequently also exited the Super Africa Rally. Despite this, it reached a deal with the RMUA to retain its team number for leasing, which it did to several teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Once it returned in 1998, it revived its team number as #1 Maison de Citroën. Similarly, Peugeot's house team inherited its #3 team number from Paul Ricard's team in 1978. Upon the request of the company Pernod Ricard to reacquire the number for its own rally team in 1999, #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport declined, citing that the number was too valuable for its brand.
Team autonomy
The house teams of the Super Africa Rally are often autonomous from the manufacturer, despite being officially connected to them by name, investment, and technology. Strong and independent team managers, such as Jean Henri Todt (of #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport) and the duo of René and Marlène Cotton (of #1 Maison de Citroën) have fostered a culture of team independence and sometimes defiance of the manufacturer's goals or aims. Teams such as #5 Team Ralliart have continued racing despite the exit of Mitsubishi from rally car production, instead partnering with other manufacturers; this being due to the high value of the team and its dedicated fan base. Many other high-profile teams, such as #2 Team Prodrive, opened the door for major companies to purchase shares in it. Since A-class teams can be as valuable as $85 million, many house teams have exercised leniency in control of the team, instead allowing team managers to operate autonomously.
Schedule
The competition takes place across three weeks, with teams traveling one "section", 750 kilometers, each day. Racing is conducted between 9 am to 5 pm; this 8-hour time window is known as the racing schedule. During this time, the roads which form the section are vacated from traffic, which allows the competitors to achieve high speeds with comparatively low risks of collision. It is up to the discretion of the police force of the respective countries to keep traffic off of the roads during this time. Due to the unique geography of the Gambia and Senegal, both countries cooperate and "act as one". Between the starting point and stopping point, there are usually no sanctioned stops. Once teams have reached the stopping point, short interviews are generally conducted and then the teams rest up in anticipation of the next day. The next day, the race continues to the next stopping point. At each stopping point, there is a check to ensure that the car has not been modified in any way which violates the rules of the competition. The cars are inspected again the next morning prior to the cars' next departure. Since 1991, all cars are equipped with action cameras that both broadcast to spectators and to ensure that no rule-breaking behavior occurs. To travel 750 kilometers in eight hours, the racers need to average at least 93.75 km/h on roads which are for the most part unpaved. Maintaining this high speed for prolonged periods of time causes considerable wear on the car and drivers; the cars are prone to breaking down, usually once every other day, so a mechanic always travels inside the car. The schedule forces a great deal of stress onto the machine team, who must come up with quick solutions to everything the rally car may face, such as emergency part-swaps or potentially serious situations and incidents.
If a team cannot reach the stopping point in eight hours provided in the racing schedule, they must slow down and abide by regular speed limits; this time is known as amercement. In addition to this, they will also receive a timed penalty. To avoid the amercement, many teams will come up with complex tactics, or study the road several times beforehand, months before the rally is to take place. Amercement will strongly impact the final score of the team that is unfortunate enough to receive it; this is by design, as it provides a strong discouragement from being left racing on roads after they have been opened to the public. Amercement aims to keep all roads empty from racing activity once they open for public use.
Trophies
The teams compete for two trophies, the Cup of Africa, and the Championship Trophy. The Cup of Africa is won by achieving the fastest overall time by each section across the entire race. The Championship Trophy is won by managing to cross the finish line first. The former is considered the most prestigious of the two, and is often won by an A-Class team. It displays an excellent record, with the winning team being able to overcome a wide variety of the many challenges of the race, and in addition in a timely manner. The latter is generally regarded as a more interesting win; according to motorsports journalist David Evans, since it is far easier for lower class teams to win the Championship Trophy.
Individuals are officially not considered to have won a SAR trophy, but their team; it is common etiquette for teammates to refer to a victory by plural pronoun or adjective (i.e. "our" win instead of "my" win). In the event that a winning team's participant was switched out during the race due to, for example, a major medical injury, they are still included in the trophy attribution.
Winning both trophies is considered a "super-slam", often nicknamed the "Cupionship", a portmanteau of "Cup" and "Championship". Very few teams have been able to achieve a super-slam victory, as the Championship Trophy is highly contested, especially when a team is leading the fastest overall time by a wide margin, effectively ruling out a Cup of Africa win for all other teams. To date there have only been 12 super-slam victories, usually once or twice per decade.
Decorations
Due to the high number of participating teams compared to the low number of victorious teams, either one or two, a concurrent system of prizes was introduced in 1971 in order to increase sponsorship and exposure for more teams. These prizes are awarded to the best performing teams of each racing leg, each about 3,500 km long for a total of four legs. The decorations are significant for the teams to which they are awarded, as they result in valuable exposure and revenue. However, they do not result in a trophy, and are distinct from it. The best average time for a leg results in a decoration for said team. Each decoration is named after the leg it represents, which in order is: Decoration of the Falcon, Decoration of the Crocodile, Decoration of the Leopard, and Decoration of the Lion. The most distinguished victory would therefore be a Victoire en Quatre (a victory of four), which would be a Super-slam victory with all four decorations. Such a feat has only been achieved once, by #7 Team Lancia in 1973 due to the dominance, technological advancement, and speed of the Lancia Stratos.
Track
The roads used by the rally are referred to as the "track", the track changes each year due to a plethora of factors including public planning, traffic, infrastructure improvements, and road maintenance. Some stretches of track have been part of the race continuously since the rally opened. The roads selected for the rally are chosen based on the type of pavement or lack thereof, their suitability for racing, daily traffic, and other minor factors. The final track is usually only complete a couple of weeks before the rally takes place, though major sections are revealed months beforehand in order to provide teams with the opportunity to study and learn them. The announced track is virtually never identical to the one being raced, this is usually due to short-notice events such as unforeseen accidents, which forces the rally to be rerouted. These reroutings are selected to as closely follow the planned track as possible.
The track is always over 14,000 kilometers and always takes place in the 21 countries along the western African coast. It always runs from Tangier, Morocco to Cape Town, South Africa. A customary pre-start drive occurs between the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, to Tangier the day before. This ceremonial drive allows teams to do a final pre-race check of their cars and equipment, and also works as a way to advertise the rally. The track runs through 21 countries with very differing security levels, during local instabilities the SAR's internal security force is deployed along vulnerable sections. It is estimated that 99% of the track is unlit, and that roughly 90% of it is unpaved. Track sections in major cities are sectioned off and are the only places where officially sanctioned spectator bleachers are available. The track is for the most part clearly labeled with markings every 50 kilometers, however, the responsibility to follow the track rests solely on the driver, with information provided by the navigator. The navigator is permitted to use a GPS device, though they for the most part rely on physical maps and their trained sense of direction.
Key cities
The rally is for the most part conducted on roads which are relatively remote. In order to draw more spectators, and also originating as a political appeasement, the concept of key cities was introduced in 1961. According to the SAR Accords, each year the board of directors of the Rally Motorsport Union of Africa must decide on at least five major cities were the competition is to run through, in addition to the three permanent cities of Casablanca, Dakar, and Lagos. Kinshasa, Accra and Windhoek have all been selected almost every year since the 2000s. The Key cities selected for the 2024 rally are Monrovia, Abidjan, Lagos, Kinshasa, Accra, and Windhoek.
In addition to Key cities, there are numerous towns and villages which the rally runs through every year; this is usually due to the location of the settlement. Such towns include Bindele in Equatorial Guinea, which the race runs through before it follows the road to Oyem into Gabon, the capital Conakry. As the race follows the N3 road by the Guinean coast, Banjul which is the capital of Gambia, harboring the only major ferry crossing of the rally, and the border town of Vioolsdrif in South Africa bordering Namibia are also such towns.
Legs
The track is further divided into four legs: North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa, each about 3,500 km in length. The legs determine the winners of the four respective decorations, the teams with the overall fastest times for a respective leg. The decorations are significant but do not result in a trophy. Legs also serve an administrative purpose for the organization of the rally. Though a gross generalization, each leg is generally earmarked by a major difference in terrain; the North Africa leg is in large part a dry and desert climate, the West Africa leg is generally grassy and humid, the Central Africa leg is comprised of dense jungle and is more remote, whilst the Southern Africa leg is drier and runs through savanna landscapes.
The Maader Run
The last section of the race, the 720 km distance between Korabib, Namibia and Cape Town, South Africa is often referred to as the Maader Run, and is the most watched segment of the entire event by a considerable margin. The Maader Run consists almost entirely of paved roads, and is the longest segment of asphalt in the entire race. As such, the cars are fitted with slicker, low-profile tires. It is considered to be the most exciting part of the race, largely due to the possibility of upsets to take place; the leading team in the race must get to, and then vigorously defend the first place in order to cross the line first and achieve a super-slam victory, taking home both trophies. Simultaneously, all other teams drive far more aggressively than in most sections of the race, looking to cross the line first and win the Championship Trophy. If two or more teams are very close to achieve the fastest-overall time, the race is considered especially tense and entertaining to watch, as several teams have the possibility to achieve a super-slam victory, increasing the competitive stress even further. The last 10 kilometer run into central Cape Town is viewed as particularly exciting.
Language
The languages of Africa are very diverse, but following the Scramble for Africa and subsequent decolonization, French, English, and Portuguese emerged as the main lingua franca of most African countries. As a consequence of the multilingual countries in which the rally runs through, there are two official languages and one recognized language for the race, those being English and French, along with Portuguese, respectively. English and French is used interchangeably in all administrative settings, whilst Portuguese representatives are guaranteed in their right to communicate in Portuguese. Official documents pertaining to international matters must be translated into English, French, and Portuguese. English is the only language which is used during the race (as in announcements, calls, and emergency settings), in order to avoid miscommunication. However, drivers, teammates, and crew are all allowed to communicate in their own language; this is especially prominent during in-car and team-to-car communication. For advertising and official coverage, many more languages are used, including Arabic, Hausa, and Swahili.
Cars
All cars must adhere to a set of guidelines and regulations maintained by the Rally Motorsport Union of Africa, the organizer of SAR. These guidelines and regulations, called "standards" change with every year, and are usually announced a month after the race has concluded, in order to provide manufacturers and teams with as much time as possible to adapt. The latest set of regulations is the 2024 RMUA Standard on Rally Automobiles, which was introduced on the 6th of August, 2023. Standards are usually referred to by their number from the first standard set in 1961, making the current 2024 iteration the 64th Standard. The 1.6 liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine used by all cars in the rally is the same as in the World Rally Championship.
Regulations have changed considerably since the first standard was announced in 1961, especially in regards to the safety of the occupants. However, the regulations are also considerably looser than for the World Rally Championship (WRC), in part due to the more negligible difference in car performance over long distances in the race. Unlike most purpose-built rally cars, the cars used in the Super Africa Rally must have four seats in order for the mechanic, navigator, and two drivers to travel together. As the rally is a long-distance endurance rally, this otherwise unconventionally large number of riders is considered necessary.
Manufacturers
A wide variety of car manufacturers have participated in the race, either directly, through official, so-called house teams, or indirectly, by a team racing the car of a specific manufacturer. Historically, until the early 1970s, virtually all rally cars were lightly modified versions of non-racing counterparts. These modifications were done by teams, not by manufacturers themselves. As the rally scene became increasingly professional, especially following the establishment of the World Rally Championship, the manufacturers themselves would begin to develop non-road going bespoke rally cars, which teams in turn acquired from manufacturers through partnerships. Increasingly strict safety regulations have made this modern arrangement successful, and today all cars in the SAR are produced and developed by manufacturers as opposed to being modified by teams. As of 2024 there are a total of seven manufacturers for the 50 teams of the race. These are Hyundai Motorsport, Toyota Gazoo Racing, Škoda Motorsport, Citroën Racing, Peugeot Sport, and Ford Performance. Historically, Ford and Citroën have both participated since the early years of the race. In order to run an official house team, manufacturers must make their car available for purchase to other teams. Teams are allowed to have cars modified independently from a manufacturer and then certified by the RMUA, though no such cars are currently participating in the 2024 roster. An example of this is the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage M5 car of Ralliart, who modified the existing Mirage platform without financial support from Mitsubishi.
Tires
The tires used in the race have changed throughout the course of history of the race, but are as of 2024 manufactured by either Pirelli or Michelin. Teams choose which tire manufacturer they partner with, and each company competes to produce tires with better compounds, grip, and tread. They generally offer four versions of tires, each fine-tuned for specific road conditions; these are sand, mud, dirt and asphalt. Sand tires are generally used during the first leg of the championship, whilst dirt tires are used for most of the race. Mud tires are often used in place of dirt tires when precipitation is expected or already has occurred. Asphalt tires are usually only used near key cities and for the Maader Run. Manufacturers often compile the amount of Top-10 teams they supplied tires to for each year, and either team declares itself the victor of a given year; this is not officially sanctioned by the SAR however.
Promotion and coverage
The Super Africa Rally, and in turn, the Rally Motorsport Union of Africa, owns the broadcasting rights to the event. The filming of the rally is handled by both a subsidiary of the rally, SARtv, and by corporate broadcasters. SARtv has exclusive to rights to cameras mounted onto the cars, and also films some stationary roadside shots and limited helicopter coverage. Corporate broadcasters mainly shoot from the roadside and in helicopters. SARtv sells its footage to various media companies and broadcasters, but also streams it live through the pay-per-view streaming service SAR+. Major broadcasters of the rally include Canal+ in France and some francophone countries in Africa, Sky in various European countries, and e.tv in South Africa. Minor domestic broadcasters also cover the rally in much of Africa, where online streaming is not as popular.
The media success surrounding the Super Africa Rally is based on the ability of the media to spin it into a regular, real-life drama, half reality tv, half sportscast. Everyone knows that there aren't 280 million motorsports fans in Africa, most of those who watch RallyNite don't watch Formula or WRC. They're in it for the entertainment, the fights, the reconciliation, and everything in between. They don't care about the cars, and I personally think that's fair, because those people account for most of the attention. Those of us who do care about the sport are grateful, because without the media frenzy this would still be a niche race that few would know about outside of motorsports.
—Patrick Vermaak, motorsports journalist
The viewing figures of the race were comparatively low until the 1994 rally, where the use of car-mounted live action cameras and live coverage made the race significantly more appealing to previously uninterested and new viewers. The marketing strategy adopted by the rally in 1996, to "Africanize" the rally has increased viewing figures from 4 million total viewers worldwide in 1996, to an estimated 280 million non-concurrent viewers per season in 2023. Much of the popularity of the race with African viewers has been attributed to the RallyNite format, a program first broadcast on e.tv in 1998. The show does not feature full-length live broadcasting from the rally, it instead compiles the most entertaining, dramatic, and comedic moments of the rally into a highlight-reel format. The moments are then narrated by those in the studio, providing explanations and reactions. The show is broadcasted weekly every Friday night, and has proved so popular that the RMUA purchased the rights to the program outside of South Africa and Namibia. The format has also been expanded into spin-offs such as the french language equivalent Soirally (a play on words between soir and rally), the 15-minute RallyBite daily segments, and the RallyStudio format broadcast on saturdays. Modern coverage includes action cams, daily highlights, interviews, complex visual graphics, and studio broadcasts discussing the race. It has been described as a modern, pan-African spectacle, in some ways working to unite the highly diverse continent.
The increasing number of drivers and entire teams consisting of native Africans have also been cited as reasons for the increasing popularity of the race; by introducing more nationality-based teams, such as the Batswana #16 Team Pula, patriotism and pride have drawn in new viewers. The media focus surrounding the various difficulties, conflicts, and relations between teammates has also drawn attention to the race, particularly from audiences with otherwise low interest in motorsports. South African motorsports journalist Dieter Rencken stated that "the Super Africa Rally is comprised of two audiences, those who care about the race, and those who care about everything else."
Records and statistics
1961-1963
During the 1961-1963 seasons the Super Africa Rally changed considerably and would not formalize into its modern iteration until the 1964 season, when the two trophy system was introduced. Further changes occurred later on, but did not substantially change how records and statistics were kept.
| Season | Winning team | Team roster | Team car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 |  Ford Works UK
|
Peter Harper (D), David Stone (C),
Henry Liddon (N), Vic Elford (M) |
Ford Falcon |
| 1962 |  Team Dassault
|
Jean Rolland (D), Claude Dubois (C),
Martine Leclerc (N), Pierre Lambert (M) |
Citroën 2CV |
| 1963 | Team Ricard
|
Henri Dubois (D), Geroges Lefevre (C),
Marie Blanchard (N), Jean-Pierre Martin (M) |
Peugeot 404 |
| (D) is for the main driver, (C) is for the co-driver, (N) is for the navigator, (M) is for the mechanic. | |||
1964 onward
| Season | Team victors of the | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cup of Africa | Championship Trophy | ||
| 1964 |  #2 Saab Works
(Saab 96) |
#4 Alan Mann Racing
|
|
| 1965 | #1 Maison de Citroën (Citroën DS)
|
First ever Super-swing victory | |
| 1966 | #9 BMC Works
(BMC Mini) |
#1 Maison de Citroën
|
Dubbed the "Dover Showdown" |
| 1967 |  #7 Team Lancia
|
#3 Team Ricard
|
|
| 1968 |  #8 Singh Racing
|
#9 BMC Works
(BMC Mini) |
|
| 1969 |  #6 Afrikasport
|
#1 Maison de Citroën
|
|
| 1970 | #10 Bianchi Racing
|
 #8 Datsun Works
|
|
| 1971 | #3 Team Ricard (Alpine A110)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 1972 | #4 Ford Team RS
|
#3 Team Ricard
|
|
| 1973 | #7 Team Lancia (Lancia Stratos HF)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 1974 | #7 Team Lancia
|
#4 Ford Team RS
|
"Barebodies"-period |
| 1975 | #3 Team Ricard
|
#7 Team Lancia
|
|
| 1976 | #4 Ford Team RS
|
#2 Team Fiat-Abarth
|
|
| 1977 | #4 Ford Team RS
|
#8 Team Durand-Auclair
|
|
| 1978 | #3 Rallye Peugeot (Peugeot 504)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 1979 | #7 Team Lancia
|
#8 Datsun Works
|
|
| 1980 | #3 Rallye Peugeot
|
#2 Team Fiat-Abarth
|
|
| 1981 | #6 Team Audi Sport (Audi Quattro)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 1982 | #6 Team Audi Sport
|
#10 Opel Team Europe
|
|
| 1983 | #7 Team Lancia
|
#6 Team Audi Sport
|
|
| 1984 | #5 Team Audi Sport
|
#3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport
|
|
| 1985 | #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport (Peugeot 205 T16)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| Competition is expanded to 25 teams | |||
| 1986 | #7 Team Lancia
|
#4 Ford Team RS
|
|
| 1987 | #7 Team Lancia
|
#16 Mazda Rally Team Europe
|
New regulations, four-crew obligatory
and no mid-mounted engine cars |
| 1988 | #7 Team Lancia
|
#6 Team Audi Sport
|
|
| 1989 | #7 Team Lancia (Lancia Delta Integrale)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 1990 | #5 Team Ralliart
|
#7 Team Lancia
|
|
| 1991 | #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport
|
#19 David Sutton Motorsport
|
|
| 1992 |  #12 Team Champ
|
#7 Team Lancia
|
|
| 1993 | #2 Team Prodrive
|
#4 Ford Team RS
|
|
| 1994 | #2 Team Prodrive (Subaru Impreza 555)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 1995 | #5 Team Ralliart
|
#2 Team Prodrive
|
Period referred to as the
"Great British Brawl" |
| 1996 | #2 Team Prodrive
|
#5 Team Ralliart
| |
| 1997 | #5 Team Ralliart
|
#4 Team M-Sport
| |
| 1998 | #5 Team Ralliart (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 1999 | #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport
|
#4 Team M-Sport
|
|
| 2000 | #5 Team Ralliart
|
#22 Team Miachael-Meyer
|
|
| 2001 | #1 Maison de Citroën
|
#3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport
|
|
| 2002 | #4 Team M-Sport
|
#2 Team Prodrive
|
|
| Competition is expanded to 50 teams | |||
| 2003 | #1 Maison de Citroën (Citroën Xsara)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 2004 | #21 Team Italiasport
|
#33 Team Sachs
|
|
| 2005 | #3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport
|
 #15 Team Shuttleworth
|
|
| 2006 |  #48 Team Dakar
|
#4 Team M-Sport
|
|
| 2007 | #1 Maison de Citroën
|
#5 Team Ralliart
|
|
| 2008 | #15 Team Shuttleworth (Ford Focus RS WRC)
|
First Super-swing victory by a
native African, Gugu Zulu | |
| 2009 | #1 Maison de Citroën
|
 #16 Team Pula
|
|
| 2010 |  #42 Team Maroc
|
#3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport
|
|
| 2011 | #1 Maison de Citroën (Citroën DS3)
|
Super-swing victory | |
| 2012 |  #12 Team NB Namib
|
#2 Team Prodrive
|
|
| 2013 | #29 Team Volkswagen
|
#3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport
|
|
| 2014 | #11 Team Sasol
|
#5 Team Ralliart
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| 2015 | #1 Maison de Citroën
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 #38 Team Ghana
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| 2016 | #31 Team Hyundai
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#4 Team M-Sport
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| 2017 | #8 Team Total
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#1 Maison de Citroën
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| 2018 | #31 Team Hyundai (Hyundai i20 Coupe)
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Super-swing victory | |
| 2019 | #1 Maison de Citroën
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#39 Team Gazoo Racing
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| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 | ||
| 2021 | #4 Team M-Sport
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#3 J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport
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| 2022 | #4 Team M-Sport
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#2 Team Prodrive
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| 2023 |  #29 Team Dangote
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#39 Team Gazoo Racing
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Controversy and criticism
The race has garnered much controversy and faced criticism concerning multiple different issues surrounding the race. Since the fall of colonial powers and the subsequent relinquishing of power, several African countries have faced political and societal instabilities as a result from wars, famine, droughts, and corruption. Criticism has dated back to the foundation of the rally, and Granius' links to the neocolonialist African Interest Bureau. However, the personal stance of Granius as a racist has also been questioned, as he openly supported the inclusion of Africans into the rally. The LNMO has according to several journalists, maintained a sense of "ruthless pragmatism", conducting friendly ties with all governments of the 21 participating countries, in spite of perceived widespread internal knowledge of several governments' human rights abuses. Such was the case with Mobutu's Zaire and Apartheid South Africa, which were both internationally ostracized. Preceding that, the LNMO closely collaborated with colonial Portugal during its Colonial War. This disposition, largely attributed to founder Harold Granius, was continued by his successor Sertor Margai. It was viewed as surprising by many, as Margai was himself a black African. The creation and expansion of the Internal Security Force (ISF), a paramilitary security wing, under Margai, led to criticism from Malcolm X, who referred to Margai as a "house negro" seeking to oppress Africans in favor of maintaining a trouble-free rally.
Safety
The rally has often been seen as emblematic of wider issues in relation to how the Western world maintain relations to African nations. It has been panned for prioritizing sports and competition over local inhabitants and their well-being, especially following the incident in which 23-year old Kanjinga Lokonga was killed on impact by a participating rally car in 1977. Her death resulted in widespread condemnation and several safety reforms. Additionally, dozens of locals have been injured in accidents over the years of the rally, in part due to the high speed and poor visibility on many roads. Cattle and property have also been damaged, with the LNMO having offered large settlement sums in return for the victims signing non-disclosure agreements about the incidents. This disposition has been described as problematic, and an effort to cover-up the reckless nature of the competition. A culture of unspoken rules and cover-ups was widespread inside the LNMO, according to several ex-employees.
Hindering infrastructure improvement
The notion that the rally is dependent on the low Human Development Index of Africa has long existed, and was first posited by Malcolm X in 1964. The widespread issues regarding infrastructure in large parts of Africa, and the low quality of road surfaces, render many of these roads into good rally courses. Improvement and asphalting of these roads would conversely render them less competitively interesting, according to some analysts. However, these claims have been repeatedly denied by the RMUA, which maintains that it will continue to organize the rally regardless of infrastructure quality. When questioned on whether the rally sought to hinder the advancement of African countries, LNMO chief executive Jean Peltier replied that "there will always be unpaved roads, there are hundreds of thousands in America and Europe. We will adapt to an advancing Africa, and we will keep it entertaining as well."
Exploitation
...and this spectacle, the "Super Africa Rally", is the axiom of colonial exploitation. The white man drives his cars whilst the black man tramples in poverty. The white man must create a competition of problems, the black man lives through those problems. For the white man it is merely a game, a challenge. For the black man it is his life. Once the black man reaches for his freedom, he is trampled by the white man, who must keep Africa poor and weak as it is. For there is no challenge to the white man if Africa is not hellish.
—Malcolm X, human rights activist
Due to the financial structuring of the competition, local communities receive virtually no monetary positives from the rally. The SARSRA framework, established by the RMUA, ensures that sizable portions of the profits are directed to the various host nations and their governments. However, an internal investigation conducted in 2011 revealed that most of those profits were either entered into the national treasuries of the countries, or presumed lost to corruption; little to no return was brought to the sub-national regions hosting the rally. Whilst larger cities and those awarded "Key city"-status have generally seen a significant influx of tourists and spending, smaller rural communities tend to be overlooked and they subsequently reap less benefits of the rally.
Additionally, a large portion of teams (64% in 2022) are based outside of Africa, and 7 out of 10 teams in the A-class are non-African. According to some economists, this creates a system wherein sponsorship funding invested into the race benefits European teams, who frequently win the rally, and therefore cause a large portion of funding never ends up actually benefiting African countries or their economies. Several analysts have also posited that there is a widespread leakage effect during the rally, due the way the rally is structured.
Emissions
The emissions and their impact on the surrounding area of the race have also been subject to controversy. Rough estimates put total fuel consumption for all teams, their cars and their crew support equipment, at over 140,000 liters of gasoline and diesel. In addition, flights and helicopters contribute to a significant amount of pollution. The emissions have grown as more spectators and interest has increased for the rally. Additionally, organizations such as Greenpeace have sharply criticized the RMUA for being slow to adopt hybrid drivetrains. In 2023, the RMUA and LNMO put out a joint strategy to address emissions and to reduce them, in part by creating a framework for creating biofuel drivetrains, and by 2035, switching entirely to battery electric drivetrains.
References
- ↑ Spain is a ceremonial participant, with races inofficially starting by driving the short pilgrimage between the Ceuta exclave (Spain) to Tangier (Morocco). Additionally, Liberta is an honorary participant, with the Libertan National Motorsport Organization founding the event. Neither are listed here as the rally does not officially take place in these countries.
- ↑ The rally goes through areas claimed but not controlled by the unrecognized state of Western Sahara. The rally does not recognize Western Sahara, indirectly referring to it as a part of Morocco.
- ↑ The French name is more commonly used in Africa than the English counterpart, whilst the rally is best known by its English name internationally, outside of Africa.
- ↑ If a contestant arrives within 10 minutes after racing schedule for the day has concluded, 10 minutes are added as penalty regardless.
- ↑ Control over a vehicle is defined by the LNMO as "being able to, at a given speed, successfully avoid accidents which would be within the driver's ability to avoid, within reason given the situation and circumstances."
- ↑ Senegal and Gambia are exempt from this rule due to their unique borders, and are therefore counted as one country together.
- ↑ Modified to comply with SAR regulations.
- ↑ Modified to comply with SAR regulations.
- ↑ Modified to comply with SAR regulations.
- ↑ J.H. Todt-Peugeot Sport began driving Citroën cars after the departure of Peugeot from rally car production in 2005, since both brands are part of the same conglomerate.
- ↑ Heavily modified version of Mitsubishi's Lancer Evolution X by MML Sports