Safari Rally office racing against time
Toyota’s 2023 Safari Rally winner Sebastian Ogier autographs his competition helmet before presenting in to President William Ruto as WRC Promoter CEO Jona Siebel (centre) looks on at Hell’s Gate. This year’s rally was another success.
What you need to know:
- The Kasarani Super Special Stage will kick off the 2024 Safari Rally in the four-kilometre circuit which will offer Nairobi-based fans the opportunity to watch the cars race side by side on March 31 and still have ample time to drive to Naivasha for an overnight stay for the start of day-long action in Kedong on Good Friday.
The Sporting arm of the WRC Safari Rally is racing against time to meet all pre-event deadlines set by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) ahead of the March 28-31 Safari Rally.
The 2024 Safari Rally has been brought forward by three months so that it is accommodated in the Easter weekend following a request by President William Ruto to the FIA and the WRC Promoter.
Kenyans are expected to pour into Naivasha for the spectacle, arriving there early and leaving at own pleasure in what is expected to be the biggest gathering of humanity in this part of the world for four days as Kenyans sample the Easter Safari Rally for the first time in 27 years.
The short notice of the change of dates has sent the sporting arm of the Safari, domiciled at the WRC Safari rally secretariat at Kasarani Stadium, into full throttle at a speed Kenya mastered soon after being sanctioned to run the 2019 Africa Championship Safari edition as a WRC Candidate Event which led to the event returning in the WRC after a 19-year absence.
Clerk of Course Gurvir Babhra has released the deadlines to be met with the Rally Guide 1 - the document which publishes all aspects of an event including names of the Sporting Organising Committee, route itinerary, information on Kenya as a country, list of hotels, hospitals, transport companies, safety, security and media information.
Bhabra says the Rally Guide 1 must have been published, reviewed and published by November 28. Rally Guide 2 will be published by February 29 next year after close of competitor entries three days earlier.
Some stages of the Safari will start in opposite directions unlike in the last three editions for variety, rather than the norm, Babhra said.
The Kasarani Super Special Stage will kick off the 2024 Safari Rally in the four-kilometre circuit which will offer Nairobi-based fans the opportunity to watch the cars race side by side on March 31 and still have ample time to drive to Naivasha for an overnight stay for the start of day-long action in Kedong on Good Friday.
