Legendary navigator Pons, 66, to miss Safari Rally

Fabrizia Pons

Fabrizia Pons disembarks from the Subaru Impreza 555 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre at a past Safari Rally Championship.


Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • There was some hope in getting the car and spares into Kenya in time after the shipping line delayed the trans-shipment earlier in the month.
  • “However this latest delay means we have no choice but to withdraw from the event. These are circumstances beyond our control, and my team has done everything possible to try and get the vehicle in time for the event.

Delays in shipment of rally cars means legendary navigator Fabrizia Pons will not make her eagerly-anticipated return to the WRC Safari Rally, a competition she finished third overall way back in 1983 co-driving Michelle Mouton in an Audi Quattro.

Minti Motorsport have also been forced to withdraw driver Raaji Bharij from next weekend’s round of the World Rally Championship due to delays in shipping his Skoda Fabia R5 to Kenya in time for the start of Rally Week on Monday, team principal Joey Ghose has announced.

Kenya’s Piero Canobbio, who was to be navigated by Pons in a Hyundai i20 R2, suffered the same fate after their car was delayed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while on transit to Kenya.

“Unfortunately our car is stuck in Jeddah's port and it won't arrive in time. So we had to withdraw from my favorite event. I hope we will have another occasion,” Italian national Pons, 66, said in a communication to organiers seen Wednesday.

Ghose was equally disappointed with having to withdraw.

“It is with immense disappointment that we have to announce that the Skoda R5 for Raaji Bharij and Jasneil Ghataure, due for the WRC Safari Rally 2022, has been further delayed by the Shipping line,” said Ghose.

“Today was the final cut-of-date for the trans-shipment in Jeddah and CMA-CGM the shipping line carrying our container has again not met their obligation to deliver or meet the deadline,” he added in a statement.

There was some hope in getting the car and spares into Kenya in time after the shipping line delayed the trans-shipment earlier in the month.

“However this latest delay means we have no choice but to withdraw from the event. These are circumstances beyond our control, and my team has done everything possible to try and get the vehicle in time for the event.

“I would like to assure our partner sponsors, Kericho Gold, Toksport and followers that we will still support Raaji and Jasneil for the rest of the season and see them through. Our promise to deliver for the rest of the season and 2023 remains.

“Minti Motorsport will continue to support other lined up of drivers and this is only a hiccup in our plans “It's official, we need to withdraw from the WRC FIA World Rally Championship Safari Rally.”

Bharij said bringing in the car was not going to be possible on time.

“It's important to state that whilst we can't detail out everything we tried, the entire Minti Motorsport team has worked super hard to come up with any solution possible once we knew that things weren't what they seemed,” he said.

“Short of a Mission Impossible, it’s important to state that whilst we can't detail out everything we tried, the entire Minti Motorsport team have worked super hard to come up with any solution possible once we knew that things weren't what they seemed."

He said they will take this as a bump in the road and put it behind them.

“I have reflected on it for around 36 hours now, and at the end of the day, I personally need to remember that thousands if not hundreds of thousands of drivers in Kenya and around the world would want to be me with this opportunity,” he added.

“So I am going to focus not on this unfortunate event, but rather on how lucky I am to have this drive. As always, we will work super hard when she gets here.”