Kenya is ready to host a round of the World Rally Championship again this year, with its famous ‘Safari Rally’, a unique off-road motor racing event.
The Kenyan government has officially announced that the Safari Rally will take place in and around Naivasha, in Nakuru County, from Thursday 20th March to Sunday 23rd.
This is one of the events that acts as a catalyst for Kenya in terms of promoting safaris to tourists, and the rally circuit itself is also promoted as an opportunity for international fans to discover or rediscover the beauty of this African country. It is no coincidence that most of the accommodation facilities in Naivasha and Nakuru were immediately stormed by tourists after the official announcement.
Compared to previous years, when the protagonists were the dirt roads near Hell's Gate National Park, this year the race includes two new stages; one inside Morendat Farm, a huge private estate famous for its livestock and vineyards, and Camp Moran, a nature reserve near Nakuru.
This will be the third round of the world championship, after the start with the Monte Carlo rally and the second round in Sweden. The off-road ‘circus’ will be arriving with some of its champions, such as last year's winner, the Finn Kalle Rovanpera, and the surprising British driver Elfyn Evans, with his fellow countryman and navigator Scott Martin who, with a Toyota GR Yaris, is leading the world championship that has just started. Toyota appears to be well prepared, fielding another of its strong drivers, the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta, currently fifth in the standings. As always, there is a large group of Kenyan drivers, even if they are not ranked, led by the expert Karan Patel in his Skoda Fabia and the Italian rally driver Carl ‘Flash’ Tundo in his Ford Fiesta. A curious novelty is the participation of a mother and daughter pair: the very young Tinashe Gatimu, 19 years old, will have her parent as co-driver, Caroline Gatimu.
Other Kenyan drivers are Jeremiah Wahome and Victor Okundi in a Skoda Fabia and Hamza Anwar and Adnan Din in a Ford Fiesta, Samman Singh Vohra, with the British driver Drew Sturrock in a Skoda Fabia Evo, and Aakif Virani and Zahir Shah, also in a Skoda Fabia, Nikhil Sachana (Ford Fiesta Rally3); Jasmeet Chana (Ford Fiesta), Rio Smith (Ford Fiesta Rally3); Minesh Rathod (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X); Sameer Nanji (Subaru Impreza WRX); Issa Amwari (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X); Evans Nzioka (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X); Pauline Sheghu (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) and Ishmael Ombati navigated by John Kadivane, also in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.