Nairobi — Ian Duncan's bid to win the 2007 Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally hit a major snag on Wednesday after a transmission malfunction forced his Ford Mustang to stop in the final competitive stage of the Day Four.

The multiple Kenya national and Safari Rally champion had yet to report at the Amboseli National Park rest halt where majority of the cars had already checked-in, at the end of the Day Four action.

Duncan was in a rush to catch the leaders after he left the Naivasha time control as the top Kenyan-placed crew in the seventh position. He set the fastest time through Suswa before disaster struck his Goodyear-sponsored Mustang.

Swede Bjorn Waldegaard is on course to repeat history after extending his lead to over 10 minutes as the KQ-Classic Rally reached the halfway stage at the world famous Amboseli National Park on Wednesday.

With his lead intact, though small for a major event of the KQ Classic Rally status, Waldegaard now looks set to repeat a historic feat - he became the first-ever European driver to win the original Safari Rally 32 years ago in a Ford Escort.

"We had lots of problems today but we are still leading the rally," said Waldegaard.

"We first broke the ball joints then shredded the front tyre before losing the fourth gear coming here. Marcy also got lost so it was good day for us," Waldegaard said.

His mission was made easier yesterday after Gerard Marcy and Alain Lopes, in a Porsche 911, got lost in the last stage of Day Four, costing the pair 32 vital minutes.

The Belgians had just passed Waldegaard's Ford Escort, which had stopped in the section with broken ball joints.

For a driver and co-driver with the experience of the Paris-Dakar Rally behind them, losing their way is one of the most embarrassing incidents in the rally to date.

Coincidentally on both the occasions, the Belgian crew happened to be on course to stretch lead at the top of the table.

Marcy's navigator, Alain Lopes said: "It's a shame because this is my last competitive rally. After this I will only be doing regularity events."

Waldegaard's team-mate, Stiq Blomqvist, is now backing into the second place in a Ford Escort.

Frenchman Frederic Dor has maintained a steady pace by staying in the top-five of the board since the start of the rally on Sunday, driving a Porsche 911.

The former winner of the Eldoret Rally, Jonathan Savage, has taken over the best Kenyan-placed spot in the eighth place driving a Datsun 260Z with son Quentin.

"I have had no problems. Everything is going well. I am happy," said Savage senior.

Former Kenya national motocross champion, Peter Young, and his South African driver, Roddy Sachs, are placed in the 12th place. Rob Hellier, the former Equator Rally winner, is placed 13th as co-driver to Wayne Kieswetter of South Africa driving a Datsun 180B.

Like Duncan, John Rose has continued to be nagged by mechanical problems throughout his contest in a Datsun 260Z.

In the latest incident, Rose had to borrow a motorcycle from one of the locals on the slopes of the Ngong Hills to ferry a spare propeller shaft from his service crew.

Ben Muchemi and George Njoroge had also checked at the final time control driving an Alfetta.

Also motoring towards the end were the husband and wife crew of Ekya and Prina Shah, uncle and nephew Aslam and Imran (Ford Escort), Minesh Rathod and Sachin Sumaria (Colt Lancer), Rommy Bhamrah and Harvey Jutley (Datsun 260Z).

Thursday is a rest day. For all the crew, world famous Amboseli national Park will be the venue to take a one-day break from the rally.