TWO Ludlow Castle Motor Club members have experienced one of the last great adventures in rallying after taking part in the East Africa Safari Rally.

Neil Weaver and Phil Clarke travelled to Kenya and Tanzania for the event which is based in Mombasa and covers more than 2,000 miles in total with 1,100 of those being competitive miles on mainly rough dirt roads.

Weaver's task for the eight-day event was to look after Belgian number-two seed Gregoire de Mevius in his Porsche 911.

Clarke teamed up with Swedish driver Jan Hagman in a Ford Escort MkII.

The first day’s stages were north of Mombasa and conditions were tricky with large mud holes and long sections of flooded dirt track that quickly became a quagmire. Some were forced to pay the locals to push them out, the going rate being 2000 Ksh or £13.

The following three days were based at Oltukai Lodge in the Amboseli National Park where competitors awoke to the magnificent sight of Mount Kilmanjaro poking its head high above the clouds.

de Mevius was fourth and Clarke and Hagman 19th going into the rest day.

Over the border in Tanzania, the rally continued its frantic schedule, sending the cars into wild and remote country with crews driving through Masai villages where people lined the route taking pictures with their mobile phones.

Clarke/Hagman ended day five in 15th and rose to 11th after day six, a position they held going into the final day.

Meanwhile de Mevius was up to third overall.

Day 8 saw crews head back into Kenya with Clarke/Hagman managing to move into 10th place overall.

Weaver was at the end of the final stage to congratulate Clarke/Hagman having already seen his driver finish third.

The next meeting of Ludlow Castle Motor Club will be held on December 9 at the Ludlow Brewery at 8pm.