Vic Preston Jr

Vic Preston Jr (20 November 1950 – 15 March 2022) was a former rally driver from Kenya. His career spanned from 1966 to 1990.

Safari Rally icon Vic Preston Jr. was among Kenya’s most distinguished rally drivers. Although he never claimed victory in his home event, the legendary Safari Rally, he twice captured the Kenyan National Rally Championship title.

Born in 1950, Vic Jr. came from one of Kenya’s most celebrated rallying families — the Preston family — who operated the well-known Vic Preston Shell Petrol Station along University Way in Nairobi and served as Kenya’s Kawasaki importer. His father, Vic Preston Sr., was himself a rally legend, having won the East African Coronation Safari (later renamed the Safari Rally) in 1954 and 1955.

Vic Jr.’s passion for motorsport began early. As a teenager, he raced Kawasaki motorcycles on the Nairobi and Nakuru tracks before transitioning to rallying. At just 16 years old, he made his debut in the 1966 East African Safari Rally, driving a Ford Cortina alongside co-driver Robert Gerrish, finishing 80th overall.

Over the next 25 years, Vic Preston Jr. became one of Kenya’s most respected professional rally drivers, competing for several top factory teams including Lancia, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, and Nissan. He took part in 18 editions of the Safari Rally, achieving his best result — second overall — in 1978 with co-driver John Lyall in a Porsche 911. He also secured third-place finishes in 1972 and 1980.

While the Safari Rally remained his primary stage, Vic Jr. also competed internationally — in England, Australia, Greece, and Côte d’Ivoire. One of his notable overseas performances came in 1985, when he finished fourth overall in the Rally Costa Smeralda (Sardinia, Italy), driving a works Martini Lancia Rallye 037 again with John Lyall.

His rally career came to a close in 1990, after he retired from the Marlboro Safari Rally due to suspension failure in his Nissan 200SX.

Vic Preston Jr. passed away on Tuesday night, 15 March 2022, in Seychelles, following complications from pneumonia. He was 71 years old.