Edgar Herrmann is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-born Kenyan

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 former rally

Rallying

Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...

 driver. He also competed in sports car racing

Sports car racing

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....

, driving mainly a Porsche 911

Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...

. Herrmann notably won the Safari Rally

Safari Rally

The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II...

 in Kenya both in 1970 and 1971. Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

 journalist Robert F. Jones

Robert F. Jones

Robert F. Jones was a novelist and an outdoor writer for Sports Illustrated and Field & Stream. Many of his novels contain fantastic and/or surrealistic elements, causing some critics to label his work slipstream....

 described him as "a lean, hard-eyed operator (a resort hotel on the coast at Malindi

Malindi

Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...

; a car dealership in Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

)" and "a confident, competent man usually trailed by good-looking women."

Career

Herrmann drove his Datsun P510 UWTK

Datsun 510

The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1974, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. According to AutoWeek's G.D...

 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

International Championship for Manufacturers

The FIA International Championship for Manufacturers was a rally series culminating in a champion manufacturer. The championship was run from 1970 to 1972 and it was replaced by the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973...

 (IMC), in 1970 with a Datsun 1600 SSS and in 1971 with a Datsun 240Z. 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.

After the World Rally Championship

World Rally Championship

The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...

 was established in 1973, Herrmann competed with his 240Z at the 1973 Safari Rally

1973 Safari Rally

The 1973 East African Safari Rally was the 21st running of the Safari Rally, and the fourth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-April in central Kenya, the Safari was a markedly different rally from the other dates on the WRC schedule...

, retiring due to a broken head gasket

Head gasket

A head gasket is a gasket that sits between the engine block and cylinder head in an internal combustion engine. Its purpose is to seal the cylinders to ensure maximum compression and avoid leakage of coolant or engine oil into the cylinders; as such, it is the most critical sealing application in...

, and with a Subaru GL at the 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally

1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally

The 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally was the 25th running of the American rally, and the eleventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run at the outset of November in the State of Michigan in the United States, the rally was run entirely on gravel.Due to a combination of...

, finishing in 14th place. However, he did win the non-WRC event Rallye Côte d'Ivoire

Rallye Côte d'Ivoire

The Rallye Côte d'Ivoire is a rally race held annually in Côte d'Ivoire in Africa. In common with other races on the continent, it is known for its arduous conditions and high attrition rate among competitors. It was part of the World Rally Championship for drivers and manufacturers from 1978 to...

 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

Mitsubishi Starion

The Mitsubishi Starion is a two-door, turbocharged four-cylinder rear-wheel drive four-seat sports car that was in production from 1982 to 1989. It was also marketed in North America as the Conquest under the Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth names; both the Starion and Conquest came to an end in 1989...

, retiring in all rallies. In 1982 and 1983, he co-drove

Co-driver

Co-driver is the term given to the navigator of rally car in the sport of rally racing, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver, often over a radio headset, due to the high level of noise in the car...

 for Swiss driver Hanspeter Ruedin in a Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo

Mitsubishi Lancer

The Mitsubishi Lancer is a family car built by Mitsubishi Motors. It has been known as the Colt Lancer, Dodge/Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer, Eagle Summit, Hindustan Lancer, Soueast Lioncel, Mitsubishi Carisma, and Mitsubishi Mirage in various countries at different times,...

. The pair retired in 1982 and placed 13th in 1983.