Karan first off the ramp at Equator Rally

Karan Patel will be flagged off first Saturday morning as the Equator Rally begins at the Voi Wildlife Lodge.

A total of 18 cars have entered the second round of the 2023 African Rally Championship.

Bandama Rally was the first event which was won by Gary Chaynes from the Ivory Coast. Home driver Gary Chaynes won the opening round of the 2023 African Rally Championship in Ivory Coast.

Zambia's Leroy Gomes and his wife Urshila are the defending 2022 ARC champions. Patel and Tauseef Khan finished a close second overall.

The Equator event, which looked doubtful after the Government first disbanded the original WRC Safari Rally Organising Committee, got a new lease of life after it was given to the Sikh Union Club but was later retrieved.

The team, led by Gurvir Bhabra as Clerk of the Course and assisted by Anwar Sidi, Nazir Yaku and George Mwangi as his officials, has always been on standby to ensure the rally finally took place.

The two-day rally will be held by the outskirts of Voi where most of the competitive stages will be based around the Taita Estate.

The total transport diastase will be 421.08 km while the Competitive distance will be 205.25kms km. 

Leg one transport will be 143.88km, while Competitive will be 159.66km. The  Leg Two Transport distance will be 71.95km while the Competitive distance will be 45.59kms.

There will be a total of Two Legs over two days of the competition. Total number of Special Stages will be 10. 

This rally will be run in compliance with the FIA International Sporting Code (ISC).

The rest of the programme is as follows:

Leg One: SS1/5 Charcoal 1&2 21.57km 1st car 19:43/13:20: SS2 /6 Camp 1&2 24.02km 1st Car 9:46/14:03, SS3/8  Karani 1&2 23.69km 1st Car  10:19/14:36, SS4 /8.   Kamtonga 1&2 10.55km 1st Car 10:52/25:09.

Start of Leg 2: Start: Voi Wildlife Lodge 8:00

SS9 Charcoal 3 21.57KM 1st Car 9:03, SS10 Camp 3 24:02km 1st Car 9:46.

Saturday 18.3.23: 159.66km of Competitive (8 Special Stages). Total number of stages will be 10.

The full start list: 

1.Karan Patel/Tausee Khan (Ford Fiesta), 

2.Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX)

3.Hamza Anwar/Adnan Din (Ford Fiesta)

4.Akhif Virani/Azar Bhatti (Skoda Fabia), 

5.Yassin Nasser/Joseph Kamya (Ford Fiesta), 

6.Jas Mangat/Joseph Kamya (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 

7.Raaji Bharij/Ravi Soni (Ford Escort MK2)

8.Jeremiah Wahome/Victor Okundi (Ford Fiesta)

9.Piero Cannobio/Mart de Paoli (Hyundai 120)

10.Kush Patel/Mudasar Chaudry (Subaru Impreza)

11.Nikhil Sachania/Deep Patel (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 

12.McRae Kimathi/Mwangi Kioni (Ford Fiesta)

13.Rio Smith/Riyaz Ismail (Ford Fiesta)

14.Ian Duncan/Jaspal Matharu (Nissan P/U)

15.Izhar Mirza/Kavit Dave (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX)

16.Nzoika Waita/Tuta Mionki (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX)

17.Asad Anwar/Shameer Yusuf(Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 

18.Anthony Nielsen/William Bass (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX).