Edgar Herrmann (born 20 February 1932) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-born

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n former

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

driver. He also competed in

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

, driving mainly a

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 model series (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in ) is a family of German two-door, high performance Rear-engine design, rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche, Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. Now in it ...

. Herrmann notably won the

Safari Rally The Safari Rally is an automobile 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 h ...

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 a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

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 centr ...

; a car dealership in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

)" 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 (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 but badged as the Datsun 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z for export, are 2-seat sports cars and 2+2 GT cars produced by Nissan from 1969 until 1978. The S30 was conceived of by Yutaka Katayama ...

. 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) cal ...

. After the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

was established in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, Herrmann competed with his 240Z at the 1973 Safari Rally, retiring due to a broken head gasket, and with a Subaru GL at the 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally, finishing in 14th place. However, he did win the non-WRC event Rallye Côte d'Ivoire 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 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