Films: Watch Three 1980s-Era African Safari Rallies Back To Back

These two films (above and below) include the coverage of the 1982 Safari Rally Kenya, the 1982 Ivory Coast Rally, and the 1983 Safari Rally.

African Safari Rallies need no introduction, they have a long history of being some of the toughest racing on earth and they were one of the key inspirations behind the creation of the Paris-Dakar Rally by Thierry Sabine (now known as the Dakar Rally).

Sabine got lost in the Ténéré desert in 1976 whilst competing in the brutal Abidjan-Nice Rally and decided it would be a perfect place for the world’s toughest race of attrition.

This series of three films include some remarkable footage of ’80s era African racing, including a two-door Range Rover V8 that completed the Safari Rally Kenya against purpose-built rally racing cars.

In the Ivory Coast Rally you’ll see the legendary Michèle Mouton in action in her Audi. Michèle won the two-litre prototype class at the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans, she then won the 1978 Tour de France Automobile, then in her rookie year driving the Audi Quattro she took a surprise win at the Rallye Sanremo.

In 1982 Mouton finished a very close second to Walter Röhrl after wins in Portugal, Brazil, and Greece. In 1985 she won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the USA, and then a year later she won the German Rally Championship. She’s one of the truly great drivers of her era, and she proved to be highly versatile switching between circuit racing, Group B rally, and hillclimbing – with wins right the way through.

The final film covering the 1983 Safari Rally includes many of the greatest rally drivers of the era, including Michèle and many of her rivals from the era.