Unsinkable Seven was a nickname given to the seven drivers and co-drivers who managed to survive to finish the notoriously difficult East African Safari Rally that began and ended in Kenya, in the unusually difficult rallies of 1963 and 1968.
Inaugurated in 1953, the rally's notoriously tough conditions required cars to be adapted to cope; despite this, it made it popular with factory teams. From the 1960s onward, they travelled from as far as Japan and Europe to compete.
The 1963 running of the rally, taking place between 11 and April 15,[6] was significant as it was included for the first time as a qualifying round for the RAC World Rally Championship. It was also significant as Japanese factory teams (Nissan and Hino) made their debut there, which in the forthcoming years played a significant part in the rally; it also had the strongest contingents of factory teams at the time.[2] With the demise of the Liège–Sofia–Liège Rally the previous year, the Safari was beginning to establish itself as the toughest rally on the calendar.[7]
Eighty-four cars of ninety-one registered entrants started the rally[2] that ran on a 3,100 mile route through Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika over three days and four nights.[4][6]
With dry parts of the road earlier in the rally, Erik Carlsson comfortably led the rally earlier, leading the local Nick Nowicki in a Peugeot 404 by three minutes at Kampala and extending it over another local, Beau Younghusband, by half an hour at Nairobi until he ran into an ant bear at Mbulu, requiring repairs but retaining a fifteen-minute lead over Younghusband at Dar es Salaam. Carlsson's Saab 96 later succumbed to those damages, breaking a driveshaft. Younghusband's Ford Cortina began to lose oil and retired with a seized engine.[7] By then the rally was marred by torrential downpours and floods causing chaos for competitors.[1]
The factory Ford team lost all their Cortinas – Moss, Anne Hall and Bert Shankland – as soon they entered Tanganyika. The Ford Anglia of Peter Hughes was to take the lead, but got stuck in the mud for 50 minutes and had to be helped out by eventual winner Nowicki, leaving himself to finish second.[7]
Amongst the factory drivers, Rauno Aaltonen participated in his second Safari with Tony Ambrose in a Morris 1100. They were amongst the top finishers until mud filled up the wheel arches of their car, effectively eliminating them.
The factory Nissan Bluebird of Takashi Wakabayashi (who later managed the factory rally team, instrumental for its successes in the 1970s) and Yasuharu Nanba (who became the first president of the newly merged Nismo in 1984)[8] were also casualties of the rally.
The pairing of Bill Bengry and Gordon Goby was the only non-African team to finish. Only seven of the 84 starters who struggled back to the finish line lasted until the end and were awarded the nickname "Unsinkable Seven"; only 8% of those who started completed the rally, making it the record lowest rate ever.
Courses lasting 3,100 miles to the finish line made the rally a challenge to complete, sometimes made worse by adverse weather conditions. The "Unsinkable Seven" nickname was awarded on two occasions, in 1963 and 1968, when a number of mishaps were caused by heavy rainfall, both before and during the rally. Also exclusion for a number of reasons including lateness and disqualification, meant that a large number of competitors had to retire. So only 8% finished, making it the lowest rate ever. Alternatively, the competitors are nicknamed "The Magnificent Seven".
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