Kenyan great Carl Tundo to compete in WRC Safari Rally
Africa rally champion Carl Tundo with former International Automobile Federation (FIA) vice president Surinder Thatthi have a look at one of the cars on display at the Nation Media Group Motor Expo at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on June 3, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The final day will take place on Sunday when the first car will be flagged off at 6am.
- The rally is expected end on Sunday at 3pm.
African rally champion Carl Tundo and his navigator Tim Jessop have finally entered the WRC Safari Rally.
The former Safari Rally and Kenya National Rally Championship champion will drive the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10 in Kenya's round of the 2022 World Rally Championship.
The car will be entered in the FIA R3 category which entitles the crew to score points in both the respective WRC and KNRC Classes.
“We are finally here after weeks of deliberations. We got the car inspected by the scrutineers and also did our recce of the route. Looking forward to the rally now,” Jessop told Nation Sport.
The Safari Rally will be the first event of the 2022 Motorsports season after the crew decided to take a rest away from the competition at the end of last year.
Veteran rally driver Baldev Chager has also decided to stay away from the competition.
KNRC leader Karan Patel and Tundo are now the favouriets to shine in the rally which has over 14 FIA registered drivers who will drive the newly introduced Hybrid cars such as the Hyundai and Ford models.
Jasmeet Chana and his brother Ravi Chana have also secured a sponsor to help their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10 tackle the Safari Rally.
“We are extremely happy to have Ongole Beef and Mitul on board as our main sponsors. We are happy to have them and I am sure their support will help us perform well in the Safari Rally,” Jasmeet told Nation Sport.
The support of the sponsors is very vital in the competition where the cost of racing is high.
Safaricom and Kenya Airways will support the respective Ford Fiestas of Hamza Anwar and Maxine Wahome in the Safari Rally.
Maxine will be the sole female driver in the competition. The rest of the ladies are navigators who will guide their respective drivers in the competition.
Zambia’s Urshila Gomes will guide her husband Leroy Gomes, while Sylvia Vindevogel of Burundi will help Giancarlo Davite
India will also be represented in the WRC by its own established rally driver Gaurav Gill. He will drive a Skoda Fabia in Kenya's round of the WRC series.
At 19, Rio Smith will be the youngest driver in the Safari Rally. He will be navigated by Riyaz Ismail in a Ford Fiesta. Rio’s father, Don Smith is the former African Rally champion.
The Safari Rally kicked off on Wednesday with the Shakedown at Loldia.
Sixteen FIA registered crews participated in the Shakedown.
The main event kicks off on Thursday at 12.47pm from the KICC where President Uhuru Kenyatta will flag off the cars.
Cars will then head for the Kasarani Special Stage where the first car will be flagged off at 2.08pm
From here cars will head for Naivasha for the overnight rest halt.
Main action will start on Friday with the start of the Three Stage competition of the day.
Cars return for the overnight rest before the Saturday action starts at 6.30am.
The final day will take place on Sunday when the first car will be flagged off at 6am.
The rally is expected end on Sunday at 3pm.
