Arusha — There will be only one driver from Tanzania participating in the fourth installment of the revived East African Classic Safari Rally.

The nine-day motoring event to cover some 4500 kilometers is scheduled to be flagged off on the Kenyan coast early next week and will spend two nights in Arusha en-route to its finishing point.

The event coordinator, Mr Surinder Thatthi revealed that, Jayant Shah a veteran motorist based in Arusha is the only Tanzanian taking part in the forthcoming, Kenya Airways Sponsored, East African 'Classic' safari Rally whose routes cover parts of Kenya and Tanzania.

The tag 'Classic' indicates the rally's flagship trademark which conditions that all participating vehicles must possess vintage or semi-vintage qualities that is they should be those cars made before or in 1975. Four Wheel Drive machines are not allowed.

The rally is expected to feature a total of 50 classic vehicles driven by motor sportsmen from all over the world. In the previous (2007) event the winner was Björn Waldegård from Sweden who was driving a Ford.

Mr Waldegaard who is the 1979 World Rally Champion, and also won the now defunct, Kenyan held Easter season Safari Rally thrice, returns again in this year's EACS rally driving a Porsche 911.

Former Formula 1 wheel spinner, Erik Comas of France who is set to participate in the event with a Renault Alpine A110 is among the notable personality to put up a dust raising, mud splashing, show in the motor rally event.

Mr. DP Marwaha, aged 84 who was a Class winner in the first Coronation East African Safari Rally in 1953 was recently named the East African Classic Safari Rally 2009.

The Rally which was revived in 2003 before running again in 2005 and 2007 is set to return for the fourth time this year starting (as usual) in the Kenyan Coastal City of Mombasa on Monday, November 23rd and end at the same venue on the 1st of December.

There will be two over-nights stopover in (Arusha) Tanzania where the rally routes are mapped around Longido, Mbulu escarpments, Lake Manyara, Arusha town and Kilimanjaro region.

On the way to the finishing point in Mombasa vehicles will speed alongside Pare Mountains then into Tanga before crossing over to Kenya along the coastline for the finnish.

"Eric Comas putting to test his Renault alpine A110 with which he is to take

East African roads by their horns."