THE HISTORY OF THE

SURINAME AUTO RALLY CLUB

AND THE SAVANNAH RALLY

Rally sport is not new to Suriname. In fact, it has been practiced since the nineteen fifties. In those days, staff members of companies such as the Suriname Bauxite Company, Billiton, Bruynzeel Timber and the Mariënburg sugar estate used to organize auto rallies, in which motor bikers were also allowed to participate.

All the rallies had one thing in common: rules and regulations were drawn up for each rally and were notably brief. If one got lost en route, there was an envelope that could be opened, which gave the way to the finish. This caused situations like waiting for rally teams to arrive at Uitkijk, where delicious mixed rice had been prepared, but which no one got to taste, because the participants, unable to puzzle out the route, had stopped somewhere to drink beer together, after which they had opened the envelope and driven on to the finish.

The puzzle route rallies were all organized on Sundays, and the prizes were given out the same afternoon.

The first night rally was the 1969 Fajalobi Rally. Since it was deemed impossible to drive an entire night with full concentration, some participants asked their physician for a pep pill, and thus around midnight a little white pill, which had probably been nothing more than an aspirin, was produced and swallowed somewhat ceremoniously. Of course with a great deal of coffee!

CAYENNE-PARAMARIBO

Nevertheless, this rally was a sign that a group of rally enthusiasts wanted something a bit more challenging than a fun route on Sunday mornings. It was, therefore, not at all surprising when a Cayenne-Paramaribo rally was announced once the ferry connection between French Guiana and Suriname had been established. The rally attracted a great deal of attention. No fewer than 38 teams appeared at the start at three o’clock in the morning. Cayenne was under the spell of the rally: cars were packed and multi-stickered, huge numbers on the doors … just like the real thing!

Gendarmes and military, supported by a helicopter, were responsible for traffic safety on French soil, and in the villages along the route the French tricolor could be seen everywhere. This international rally – eight French teams participated – was concluded with a grand prize-giving ceremony at the Torarica hotel.

It was a tremendous success and heralded a new era! For, when the route was being plotted in French Guiana, attempts had been made to include the splendid savannah areas as well, but these attempts had to be abandoned because of the rains (December/January). Suriname also has savannahs, the best known being the O.P.-Savannah near Zanderij airport. But it would be irresponsible to send cars into the area, wouldn’t it? They might get stuck and even lost! With the help of the Dutch military in Suriname, and their three-tonners, jeeps, ambulance and tow truck, as well as a spotter in the air, it was nonetheless ventured.

THE SAVANNAH RALLY

The first Savannah Rally was held on 7 and 8 November 1970.

57 Cars, with necessary and unnecessary equipment and advertising, and with gigantic numbers on their hoods, so that they could be spotted from the air, had to persevere for 24 hours in an area without roads. A literal ‘height’ in this rally was the stay-over on the Brownsberg, where the winding road to the top of the mountain had become slippery because of the rains.

The participants caught some sleep in hammocks, on stretchers or in their cars. Many inexperienced drivers ended up in the strangest places in the savannah and many participants had to do a lot of digging in the loose sand. Thanks to the military aerial reconnaissance and four-wheel drives, all participants made it to the finish. The reactions before and during the prize-giving ceremony are sufficiently illustrative of this event: ‘Never will I forget what the savannah looks like!’ ‘You got to places you wouldn’t usually go.’ ‘The organization was excellent.’

SARK

With two large rallies in a year, a more organized approach of the rally sport in Suriname was required. Hence, on 27 January 1971 the Suriname Auto Rally Club (SARK) was founded. Its first chairman was Bert Storm van Leeuwen, one of Suriname’s first rally riders. In Article 2 of the association’s regulations, approved by the members in April 1972, among other things the objective of the SARK is mentioned as: 'to organize an annual Savannah Rally or another similar event’.

Meanwhile, a second Savannah Rally had been held in 1971, during which the organizers managed to get the rally teams into the magnificent Blaka Watra area. The Suriname Aluminum Company provided for a ferry connection near Carolina: an enormous flat boat with a push tug. In the years that followed the 'Official Regulations for Plotting and Riding Reliability Runs’ was introduced and new areas were diligently sought every year again for the annual savannah rally.

Various rallies were organized every year under the auspices of the SARK, and in November 1974 the 5^th Year SARK Anniversary Savannah Rally was held, which lasted from Thursday evening until Sunday afternoon.

This was truly a climax, though the future looked grim for the Savannah Rally. With Suriname’s independence in 1975, the Dutch military contingent, whose assistance had been indispensable for the Savannah Rally, left. Although the military check points of the olden times had largely been replaced by signboards with a letter and a number, the military had still provided the meals during the event.

With the same daring and resourcefulness, which had built or repaired bridges, put into action ‘ferries’, built roads and set up stay-over facilities, the Savannah Rally of 1976 was organized. From this moment on, the Parbo Beer Boys, the 'golden team’, took it upon themselves to cater for the event.

The Savannah Rally has meanwhile acquired international fame as a 4 days event unequaled in the world. Rally teams from Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Curaçao and the Netherlands compete regularly in a special ‘overseas category’.

The Suriname Savannah Rally….if you can dream it, you can do it!