Naivasha bursts into life as world rally champions come calling
International Automobile Federation (FIA) President Jean Todt (third right) is received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by FIA Vice President Surinder Thatthi (on his right), WRC Safari Rally Head of Security Julius Kabiru and WRC Safari Rally models.
What you need to know:
- The stages will be Elementaita, Sosyambu and Sleeping Warrior. Roads further north around Lake Elmenteita host Saturday’s 132.08km of action.
- Sunday’s finale spans both the north and south sides of Lake Naivasha. The forested Loldia to the north and Hell’s Gate to the south sandwich the rocky Malewa.
- The second pass through Hell’s Gate, which finishes amid stunning scenery at Fishers Tower, forms the Wolf Power Stage. The 18 stages will amount to a total of 320.19 kilometres.
Naivasha burst into life Monday with a galaxy of the world’s best motor rally drivers and teams painting the town red as they prepared the world’s fastest rally cars for action.
Also arriving Monday was International Automobile Federation (FIA) President Jean Todt, who is also here to preside over a meeting of the African motorsports continental body.
Todt and a big delegation of the FIA landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport shortly after 1pm in an Ethiopian Airways flight.
The delegation also included FIA technical delegates Jerome Toquet (Technical), Daniel Fasano (Technical), Vera Dussausaye (Media), Andrew Wheatley (Sporting) and Nicolas Klinger (Deputy Safety Delegate).
They were received by, among others FIA Vice-President for Africa Surinder Thatthi of Kenya and WRC safari Rally Head of Security, Commissioner of Police Julius Kabiru.
This week’s World Rally Championship Safari Rally will see the much trumpeted world rally cars compete on African soil for the first time in 19 years.
International Automobile Federation (FIA) President Jean Todt (centre) is received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by models and FIA Vice President Surinder Thatthi (right) together with WRC Safari Rally Head of Security Julius Kabiru (left).
Naivasha’s Buffalo Mall was extraordinarily busy with superstars, including most celebrated world champions Ott Tanak, Sebastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville, among others showing up for pre-competition medical checks.
The drivers kicked off their preparations with the official reconnaissance of the route of the stages.
Today will be the second day of checking the route.
Drivers have to use standard cars to check the route of the entire event.
World Rally Championship leading driver Ogier is among the top drivers who are in Kenya for the beginning of the four-day rally that kicks off on Thursday with the official flagging off from the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
Ogier is a French rally driver, competing for Toyota World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship. He is teamed with Julien Ingrassia as his co-driver.
The Frenchman has won the World Rally Drivers' Championship seven times starting in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Ogier first won a World Rally Championship event in 2008 in Mexico. Other contenders include Elfyn Rhys Evans from Wales.
He is currently teamed with Scott Martin and is competing for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the World Rally Championship and has so far won four rallies.
All the three R1 Factory Rally of Toyota, Ford, and Hyundai will field all their top drivers with a team of 11 of the second-tier Rally2 machines leading pilots.
Interestingly, Kalle Rovanpera of Finland in a Toyota Yaris Rally1 is the youngest aged 20 while Sobieslow Zasada, second in 1972 Safari Rally, and last here in 1997 is the oldest aged 91.
The Pole will drive a Ford Fiesta ST Rally3.
Besides Ogier, Toyota's other drivers are 2021 WRC Portugal champion Evans, Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta.
The 2019 world champion Tanak, Dani Sordo, Thierry Neuville and Pierre-Louis Loubet wrap up the Hyundai Mobius WRC Team assault.
The 2002 WRC Safari winners M-Sport will also field Gus Greensmith, Adrien Fourmaux and Lorenzo Bartelli in the Fiestas R1rally cars.
Ford has also entered Teemu Suninen and Martin Prokok in the R2 class. Andreas Mikkelsen is the top R2 driver in a Skoda Fabia Evo.
The ARC Equator Rally champion Carl Tundo and his regular navigator Tim Jessop in a VW Polo Rally2 is one of the top Kenyans in the race.
Others in this category are Onkar Rai/ Drew Sturrock (VW Polo); Tejveer Rai/Gareth Dawe (VW Polo) and Karan Patel/Tausheef (Ford Fiesta). National champions Baldev Chager and Ravi Soni (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO10) Eric Bengi/Peter Mutuma (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 10) and McRae Kimathi/Shameer Yusuf (Subaru Impreza N12) are the top leaders in the R3 class.
Kenya’s Shekhar Mehta remains the most successful driver in the event with five outright victories Drivers such as Juha Kankkunen, Colin McRae, Tommi Makinen, Björn Waldegård, and Richard Burns also dominated the event.
The first leg of the main action will start from Naivasha on Friday and tackle three stages first before reporting back at the Service Park.
The following stages will then be repeated before the action heads for an overnight rest halt at the Service Park.
The stages will be Chui Lodge, Kedong and Oserian respectively.
Three more stages will again be repeated on Saturday with a visit to the Service Park at the end of the first loop.
The stages will be Elementaita, Sosyambu and Sleeping Warrior. Roads further north around Lake Elmenteita host Saturday’s 132.08km of action.
Sunday’s finale spans both the north and south sides of Lake Naivasha. The forested Loldia to the north and Hell’s Gate to the south sandwich the rocky Malewa.
The second pass through Hell’s Gate, which finishes amid stunning scenery at Fishers Tower, forms the Wolf Power Stage. The 18 stages will amount to a total of 320.19 kilometres.
