30-container load of rally equipment on the way
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba, flanked by Safari rally Organising Committee chairman Carl Tundo, briefs the media after touring the Naivasha Service Park of the WRC Safari Rally on March 02, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Equipment and spares will be transported to Naivasha via SGR
A ship carrying 30 containers loaded with equipment and spare parts for manufacturer teams in the WRC Safari Rally is expected to dock at the port of Mombasa on Wednesday.
The material will be transferred to the Suswa Inland Container Depot (ICD) for onward road transportation to the Wildlife Research and Training Centre (WRTC) Service Park, the nerve centre of the rally.
The containers will be downloaded at designated locations earmarked for the three manufacturers -- Ford, Hyundai and Toyota -- at the Service Park where the teams will set up their operation bases during the rally week from June 19 to 25.
The cargo was loaded in Mexico after the end of WRC2, Rally Mexico last March.
It has been closely monitored by the WRC to ensure seamless arrival in Naivasha before the rally machines which will be flown in by a cargo plane on June 16.
Some drivers in the WRC2 and WRC3 categories have also made arrangements for the arrival of their cars and spare parts.
This is the second year the Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Railways are playing a crucial role in transporting rally equipment for the Safari.
Their arrangement has been hailed as one of the most efficient ways of transportation of the WRC caravan in the series by reducing road transport to a minimum, in this case 50km.
The Service Park manager Joel Muchiri said they have been in communication with all the foreign teams and drivers on how to serve them better, and also ensure all will be well as it happened in the last two editions which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
WRTC will be the headquarters of the Safari Rally where all activities of the car competition will be based apart from the ceremonial start at Uhuru Park and the Kasarani Super Special Stage on June 22.
Meanwhile, the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) series leader Jasmeet Chana has confirmed his participation.
He faces a major test against 11 other drivers in an array of machines who will be going for Kenya and WRC points in the most competitive motorsport in the country in the last 12 months.
A total of 37 drivers have confirmed participation in the WRC Safari Rally following the entries of three more drivers in the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) category.
These are Issa Amwari in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10), Jasmeet Chana (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10) and Josiah Kariuki (Subaru Impreza).
Entries for the KNRC will close on June 14.
Explaining the different classification, Event Secretary Hellen Shiri said the three, together with compatriots Nikil Sachania, Minesh Rathod, Edvans Nzioka -- all driving Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 cars, Kariuki and Eward Maina (Subaru Imprezas) are Group N cars and ineligible to score points in the WRC.
However, the three Ford Fiesta Rally Three drivers, McRae Kimathi, Hamza Anwar and Jeremiah Wahome, in the WRC3 category, Kenyan champion Karan Patel (Ford Fiesta), Piero Cannobio (Hyundai i20 N), Aakif Virani (Skoda Fabia), Samman Vohra (Skoda Fabia), and Carl Tundo (Skoda Fabia) in the WRC2 class, will contest for the WRC points.
Although these points may not make a difference for a local driver not taking part in the other 12 rounds of the championships, they, however, are a morale booster as it was noted for Onkar Rai, Karan and Tundo who registered their names in the exclusive WRC roster of honour in the 2021 season.
