Ian Duncan (born 23 June 1961) is one of

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. ...

'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 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 ...

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 to 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 serves as both a parliamentary constituency and an administrative division. As of 2004, the town's population was approximately 4,800, which significantly increased to 159,314 by the 2019 census. Location Li ...

. 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 a Kenyan newspaper. It was founded in 1958 and is published in Nairobi. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hayes. It was bought in 1 ...

'', 26 December 2009 His first victorious national rally was the Nakuru Rally in 1987 driving a

Toyota Celica twin-cam turbo The Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo is a racing car produced to compete in rally racing in Group B, presented by Toyota in 1983 and used until the abolition of Group B at the end of 1986. The Celica TCT proved to be one of the best-used cars in Afri ...

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 touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

Subaru Legacy RS and Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD 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 specifi ...

class in a Subaru Legacy RS at the 1990

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

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, navigated by Yvonne Mehta (the wife of Shekhar Mehta). Later he was running a non-homologated

Toyota Hilux The , stylised 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 a pickup truck or cab chassis, although they coul ...

with a

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

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 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 ...

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 off-road vehicles and full-size SUVs manufactured by Nissan in Japan since 1951 and sold throughout the world. It is Nissan's longest running series of models. The Patrol has been available as either a short-wheelbase (SWB) ...

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

autocross Autocross is a form of motorsport in which competitors are timed to complete a short course using automobiles on a dirt or grass surface, excepting where sealed surfaces are used in United States. Rules vary according to the governing or sanctioni ...

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, a ...

driving a 1968

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...

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 World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979. His Swedish nickname was "Walle". Career Waldegård, who came from Rimbo, had a career that ...

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 and designed by Philip T. Clark, who had been involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the European ...

. He finished seventh In 2012 he came close to winning his second Safari Rally, now with ARC status, but lost to Carl Tundo 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