Ian Duncan (born 23 June 1961) is one of

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's most successful rally drivers. He was Kenyan Rally Champion six times (1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2000 and 2011), and achieved outright victory in a

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 ...

round when he won the 42nd Trustbank Safari Rally in 1994. This was one of seven consecutive top ten finishes in the event from 1990–1996, despite its notorious attrition rate.

Career

He spent his childhood at his parents' farm in

Limuru Limuru is a town in central Kenya. It is also the name of a parliamentary constituency and an administrative division. The population of the town, as of 2004, was about 4,800. In a census taken in 2019 the population had increased to 159,314. Loc ...

. His first tastes of driving occurred when he was aged around ten, as he helped his mother when she got stuck on farm roads during the rainy season. He went to St. Mary's High School, but was more interested in repairing cars and motorcycles. He also competed in motocross winning the national 125 cc title in 1979 and 1980. He competed in the Safari Rally for the first time in 1983 driving a Nissan pick-up navigated by Gavin Bennett, reaching ninth position and a class victory, gaining the attention of rally people.Duncan's mustang ride to victory
''

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is the highest circulation Kenyan independent newspaper with 170,000 copies. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili language, Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hay ...

'', 26 December 2009 His first victorious national rally was the Nakuru Rally in 1987 driving a Toyota Celica twin-cam turbo navigated by Ian Munro. Duncan won his first national championship the same year winning most of the races. He won the 1987 national Motor Sportsman of the Year Award. Having competed with a

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...

Subaru Legacy RS and

Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

in the 1990s. Apart from the Safari Rally, he competed in WRC rallies only a few times. The best result was finishing 3rd overall during the 1993 WRC safari Rally. During this edition, Toyota achieved a famous 1-2-3-4 that was repeated during the 2022 WRC Safari Rally.He would also finish eighth overall and win the

Group N In relation to international motorsport governed by the FIA, Group N refers to regulations providing 'standard' large scale series production vehicles for competition. They are limited in terms of modifications permitted to the standard specific ...

class in a Subaru Legacy RS at the 1990

Acropolis Rally The Acropolis Rally of Greece ( el, Ράλλυ Ακρόπολις) is a rally competition that is part of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The rally is held on very dusty, rough, rocky and fast mountain roads in mainland Greece, usually duri ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, navigated by Yvonne Mehta (the wife of

Shekhar Mehta Chandra Shekhar Mehta (20 June 1945 – 12 April 2006) was a Kenyan rally driver. He was born in Uganda and won the Safari Rally a record five times (1973, 1979–82), including four consecutively, and in 1981 finished fifth in the World Rally ...

). Later he was running a non-homologated

Toyota Hilux The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although they ...

with a

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

4.5 L engine in the Kenyan National Rally Championship (KNRC). In November 2006 Duncan won the Guru Nanak Rally, becoming the first driver to win a KNRC round for the tenth time. He was imposed a four percent time penalty due to his non-homologated vehicle. He extended the record in 2007 by winning the Guru Nanak Rally again. Duncan has won the

Rhino Charge The Rhino Charge is an annual off-road competition held in Kenya in which entrants are required to visit a number of points (Guard Posts) while travelling the shortest possible distance across difficult, trackless terrain, where speed is penali ...

off-road event in 1998, 2006 and 2007. He has competed in motorcycling. In 2003, he was the runner up of the Kenyan

enduro Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a ...

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

as well as rally championships. He introduced his newest rally car, a

Nissan Patrol The is a series of full-size SUVs manufactured by Nissan in Japan and sold throughout the world. The Patrol has been available as either a short-wheelbase (SWB) three-door or a long-wheelbase (LWB) five-door chassis since 1951. The LWB version ...

pick-up, in October 2008. In 2008 he also won the national

autocross Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition ...

championship. In 2009, 15 years after winning the Safari Rally proper, Duncan won the Safari

classic rally Classic rallying, or historic rallying, is a type of road rally suitable for most standard classic cars, with no special equipment needed (the equipment allowed depends on the particular rally). These rallies are more about enjoyment than speed, and ...

driving a 1968

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

navigated by his current navigator Amaar Slatch. The defending champion

Björn Waldegård Björn Waldegård (12 November 1943 – 29 August 2014) was a Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979. His Swedish nickname was "Walle". Career Waldegård, who came from Rimbo, had a car ...

was left in second place. On 23 October 2011 he won the Kenyan National Rally Championship for the sixth time. Duncan entered the 2011 Classic Safari Rally as a defending champion, now driving a

Ford Capri The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe, designed by Philip T. Clark, who was also involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the Euro ...

. He finished seventh In 2012 he came close to winning his second Safari Rally, now with

ARC ARC may refer to: Business * Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s * Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services * ...

status, but lost to

Carl Tundo Carl "Flash" Tundo (born 11 December 1973 in Nairobi) is a rally driver from Kenya. He is a five times winner of the Safari Rally. In 2009 it was a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, making Tundo the first and only Kenyan winner of an ...

by just 15 seconds

WRC victories

References

External links

Profile of Duncan at Rallybase.nl
including international results
Kenya National Rally Championship
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Ian 1961 births Kenyan rally drivers Living people World Rally Championship drivers Alumni of St. Mary's School, Nairobi White Kenyan people Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers