Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The 2017 CBA Africa Concours d’Elegance: Of Beasts and Beauties

At the Nairobi Racecourse, it was a day of beasts and beauties. It was the Africa Concours d’Elegance, generously sponsored by CBA and well organised by Kenya’s Alfa Romeo Owners Club. And it was the 47thrunning of this event, which has become one of Kenya’s most popular family events.

The beasts were, of course, not horses but the 77 competing cars and the 41 motorcycles. All of them were also beauties, because they were there to be judged for their preparation, their cleanliness and, especially, their elegance.

 It is an amazing event, the Concours. It is made so by the car owners who have spent, some of them, many months of rebuilding, repainting, titivating and polishing. Increasingly, our Concours is justifying the Africa in its name. This year there were 13 cars from Uganda and 14 motorcycles – 11 from the Uganda Bikers Association, who once again rode in convoy from Kampala. There were three cars from Tanzania and three motorcycles from South Africa. Over the years there have been entrants from as far away as Argentina, Australia, Mexico, England and Germany.

Alongside the competition there were the 28 stands of the Auto Expo (the motor trades stands) a Classic Car and Motorcycle Sale, and the Heritage Collection of old and interesting vehicles, equipment and machinery.

But the event is about many things other than cars. As in previous years, there were live bands, a fly past, a parachute drop, a free and imaginative children’s centre, and plenty of places for eating and drinking – which is why about 11,000 people turn up each year to admire the competing cars and the motorcycles, to show off their fashions, and enjoy themselves.

There were many spectacular vehicles on display, but pride of places went to:

Overall winner of the car classes:                   Diccon Wilcock’s 1934 Railton

Overall winner of the motorcycle classes:     Sati’s Classics 1925 DKW

Clive Mawson, the FIM-Africa Vice President in-charge of Leisure, Touring and Road Safety, attended this year. He was clearly very impressed. His judgement was, in one word, Outstanding.

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