Edgar Herrmann (born 20 February 1932) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-born

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n former

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

driver. He also competed in

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

, driving mainly a

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...

. Herrmann notably won the

Safari Rally The Safari Rally is a rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is historically r ...

in Kenya both in 1970 and 1971.

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

journalist Robert F. Jones described him as "a lean, hard-eyed operator (a resort hotel on the coast at

Malindi Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban centre ...

; a car dealership in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

)" and "a confident, competent man usually trailed by good-looking women."

Career

Herrmann drove his Datsun P510 UWTK to fifth place at the 1969 Safari Rally, then known as the ''East African Safari Rally'', after retiring with a Porsche 911 a year earlier. He went on to win the event twice when it became part of the

International Championship for Manufacturers The FIA International Championship for Manufacturers (IMC) was a Rallying, rally series culminating in a champion manufacturer. The championship was run from 1970 to 1972 and it was replaced by the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973. All the n ...

(IMC), in 1970 with a Datsun 1600 SSS and in 1971 with a

Datsun 240Z The Nissan S30 (sold in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z and in other markets as the Datsun 240Z, then later as the 260Z and 280Z) is the first generation of Z GT 3-door two-seat coupés, produced by Nissan Motors, Ltd. of Japan from 1969 until ...

. In 1972, he took his 240Z to fifth place. His IMC events outside his home country resulted in retirements, except for a 17th place at the 1971

RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...

. After the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

was established in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, Herrmann competed with his 240Z at the

1973 Safari Rally The 1973 Safari Rally (formally the 21st East Africa Safari Rally) was the fourth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-April in central Kenya, the Safari was a markedly different rally from the other dates on the WRC ...

, retiring due to a broken

head gasket In an internal combustion engine, a head gasket provides the seal between the engine block and cylinder head(s). Its purpose is to seal the combustion gases within the cylinders and to avoid coolant or engine oil leaking into the cylinders. Leak ...

, and with a

Subaru GL The Subaru Leone is a compact car produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Subaru from 1971 to 1994. The word ''leone'' is Italian for lion. It was released as a replacement for the Subaru 1000 and was the predecessor of the Subaru Impreza. ...

at the

1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally The 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally (formally the 25th Press-on-Regardless Rally) was the eleventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run at the outset of November in Michigan in the United States, the rally was run entirely on ...

, finishing in 14th place. However, he did win the non-WRC event

Rallye Côte d'Ivoire The Rallye Côte d'Ivoire, perhaps better known as the Rallye Bandama as it was originally called, or the Ivory Coast Rally is a rally race held annually in Côte d'Ivoire in Africa. In common with other races on the continent, it is known for its ...

that year. The following season, he took part in the Safari Rally in a Porsche Carrera RS but retired with an engine problem. Herrmann went on to compete at the Safari Rally five more times. In 1976, he drove an

Opel Kadett GT/E The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel from 1936 until 1940 and then from 1962 until 1991 (the Cabrio continued until 1993), when it was succeeded by the Opel Astra. Kadett I (1936–1940) ...

and in 1984 and 1985, a Mitsubishi Starion Turbo, retiring in all rallies. In 1982 and 1983, he co-drove for Swiss driver Hanspeter Ruedin in a Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo. The pair retired in 1982 and placed 13th in 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrmann, Edgar 1932 births Living people Kenyan rally drivers Kenyan rally co-drivers World Rally Championship drivers World Rally Championship co-drivers