From left: Rally drivers Issa Amwari, Jasmeet Chana, Hamza Anwar, Karan Patel, Samman Vohra and Aakif Virani.
Six Kenyan rally drivers, now piloting machines that can hold their own against the monsters driven by European and South American elites, are determined to bring the Rally2 crown home at the 2026 WRC Safari Rally.
The iconic competition opens tomorrow with a shakedown at Mzabibu, an 8km stage some 5km from Naivasha, on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
The last Kenyan crew to excel the Rally2 category was in 2021, when Onkar Rai, racing in a VW Polo GTi R5 finished seventh overall. He was followed by Karan Patel in a Ford Fiesta and Carl Tundo, also in a VW Polo GTi R5—marking Kenya’s strongest Safari showing since 1994, when Ian Duncan in a Celica GT4 won the overall title and Patrick Njiru, in a Subaru Impreza WRX, placed fourth and topped Group N.
A Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 is unloaded at Wildlife Training and Research Centre Service Park, Naivasha on March 7, 2026 ahead of the WRS Safari Rally that begins on March 12, 2025.
Rai’s seventh-place finish was his career best and the highest result for a Rally2 car in that year’s Safari rally, coming behind the factory-backed Toyota, Hyundai and Ford Rally1 entries, topped by eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier in a Toyota GR Yaris.
Since that breakthrough, Kenyan teams have struggled to repeat the feat or even break into the top 10.
The current flagship of Kenya’s push is two-time African champion Karan Patel, a driver who excels on smoother stages. After a string of setbacks over the previous four editions, Patel is hoping luck finally turns in his favour.
The WRC.com released scary images of treacherous wet conditions in Sleeping Warrior, and Kenyans are wary of the mud and rocky sections.
“Everything looks ready. Now it’s just a matter of good fortune. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this year will be different,” Karan said after missing the African title last season in a three-way showdown with compatriot Samman Vohra and Tanzania’s Yasin Nasser.
Nasser claimed the crown despite a fourth-place finish at the season-closing Mkwawa Rally, while Vohra, behind a Skoda Fabia, needed a win to stay alive but was held off by Karan, who seized the top spot. Karan finished the African Rally Championship (ARC) in fourth place, having already secured the 2023/24 continental titles.
Karan, one of the five drivers sponsored by KCB Bank, will be paired with his long time co-driver Tauseef Khan. Khan’s résumé spans Kenyan, African and global events, including four WRC rounds in 2016 (42nd in Finland, retirements in Germany, Portugal and Spain).
He also contested the DMACK Cup, which later evolved into the FIA Rally Star programme.
The Chana brothers—Jasmeet and Ravi—are the only crew to have completed the entire Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) calendar in 2023, the last competitive round in the calendar as low entry numbers and event cancellations marred the 2024/25 seasons due to internal politics.
Driving a Rubis Castrol Ford Fiesta Rally2, they aim to recreate the 1965 East African Safari triumph of brothers Joginder and Jaswant Singh, who won in a Volvo PV 544, by targeting the Rally2 class this year.
The duo finished third at the 2025 Tanzania Guru Nanak Mkwawa Rally and again third in the 2025 WRC Safari KNRC category.
“Our goal is to win our class; anything beyond that is a bonus,” said Jasmeet, adding that his brother Ravi, a seasoned co-driver, makes the ideal partnership for the Fiesta Rally 2.
Samman Vohra’s Skoda Fabia R5, supported by Sheffield Africa and the Sarova Group, was a revelation on the continent, falling just one point short of the ARC title.
A mechanic works on the Toyota GR Yaris car of Diego Dominguez in the WRC Safari Rally Service Park, Naivasha on March 10, 2026.
Consistent performers Hamza Anwar (Ford Fiesta), Virani Aakif (Ford Fiesta) and Issa Amwari (Skida Fabia) have yet to enjoy a trouble-free Safari run, frequently hampered by mechanical gremlins, but they remain optimistic that this edition will be their breakthrough outing.
Kenyan hopefuls must also contend with a battle-hardened European pack led by Briton Gus Greensmith, who took the Rally2 class win last year in a Fabia. Greensmith spent Monday testing his new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 at the Ndulele Conservancy. He returns with the RaceSeven team, eager to secure Toyota’s first Rally2 championship on Kenyan soil.
In 2022, he won on the rough gravel of Kenya and Saudi Arabia before mechanical failures in Chile and Japan dropped him to fourth overall.
On switching from Skoda to Toyota, Greensmith explained:
“It quickly became clear that everyone moving to Toyota was gaining a massive pace advantage.
I love Skoda and have been loyal, but the performance gap was impossible to ignore. The Toyota is trickier to drive, yet after three days of testing, I’m getting the feel of it.”
Other international challengers arriving in Kenya include Daniel Chwist (Poland), Robert Virves (Estonia), Andreas Mikkelsen (Sweden), Diego Domínguez Jr. (Paraguay) and Fabrizio Zaldivar (France), all contesting in identical Skoda Fabia Rally2 cars.
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