Seal of approval for Safari’s Service Park, Hell’s Gate stage

The final layout of the WRC Safari Rally Service Park was approved on Friday in which Kenya will provide infrastructure while competing teams will put up their own structures, including garages and offices, at the Kenya Wildlife Service Training School’s rally nerve centre in Naivasha.

The Hell’s Gate National Park Power Stage - part of the setting for the Angelina Jolie-starring Hollywood blockbuster movie, Tomb Rider - starting at the Ol Karia V Geothermal plant and ending at the social function site overlooking the massive cliff - was described by Dom Saunders from UK Motorsports as "spectacular, breathtaking and magnificent."

“It will define the beauty of Kenya in front of an estimated 70 million television viewers in 150 countries,” Saunders said.

International Automobile Federation (FIA) experts Joao Passos (Portugal) and Briton Ian Campbell, also clerks-of-courses in their respective countries’ WRC events, and who have been seconded to Kenya for knowledge exchange, yesterday said the all-tarmac KWS Training Institute Service Park, teeming with wild game, meets modern-day World Rally Championship requirements.

“We now know what Kenyans can produce in 100 days from the four days we have been here. I urge everybody here to follow the same direction," said Campbell.

Similar sentiments were expressed by the newly-appointed Chief Administrative Secretaries in the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Heritage Zach Kinuthia and Simon Kachapin who ended a three-day field review work on Friday.

They said the government will assist the Safari Rally organisers to achieve their desired goals.

“Rest assured that you have all the support from the government and if there are any issues you need, we shall escalate the same to ensure the rally is a huge success,” Kinuthia said.

The government has been the biggest sponsor of the Safari since 2018 when Kenya started an ambitious goal to return the iconic, highly-storied event, after 19 years out in the cold. WRC Safari Rally CEO Phineas Kimathi summarised the work so far achieved as an effort from a well-coordinated team led by the government and foreign friends.

"For 19 years we have not been in the WRC there were other people working out there. We’ve had trainers particularly from Motorsport UK who have transferred knowledge to our local technical officials," said Kimathi, a former Formula Two WRC Safari Rally champion in a Hyundai Coupe.

"We have made several friends and want to have more and we are looking forward to working with all of you from the government."

Anthony Gatei, the Service Park Manager, took the visitors and local officials on an extensive tour of the Service Park, explaining in detail where cars will be serviced, washed, re-fueled, and scrutineered. This is on top of the media centre and interview areas.

All top officials will be tested for Covid-19 with two levels of bubbles created in the high and low-density areas.

This means that personnel from media areas ranked as “Low Density Areas”, will not be allowed to enter the service area which is a “High Density Area” and vice versa.

He also gave a graphics and video presentation at the Lake Naivasha Resort.

"We shall lay environmentally friending floor mats and A-Frame petitioning working areas although teams will ship in prefabricated structures,” Gatei explained.

The Safari’s Chief Safety Officer, Norris Ongalo, said they will field over 1,000 safety marshals. "Safety is the single most labour-intensive component of the Safari with over 1,000 volunteers who will come from all parts of Kenya with the largest group of individuals deployed in the stages,” he explained.

“Within stages, there are managers, already trained whose role is to supervise others. Safety is not about vehicles running over people but also the drivers. We will work closely with the security team to minimise risk. We also have several equipment similar to what National Disaster Management has," he added.

“Safety is a way of life. We have learning curves to ensure we mitigate from the past going forward," said Ongalo who noted that the organisers are working closely with the Kenya Wildlife Service to ensure animals are well protected during the rally and that personnel on the route also kept safe from the wild game.

Meanwhile, all hotels in Naivasha have been fully booked to accommodate over 2,500 rally and government officials, said the Safari’s head of protocol, Faith Wathome. "Accommodation of over 2,500 people will be a challenge, but I am at home from past experience in rallying in Machakos," she said.

"The WRC is huge. We are looking to Elementaita and Nakuru to cater for spectators," she added.

Gurvir Babhra, the Safari’s Clerk-of Course, recalled that they have been working on the route since 2018 adding that the Safari will start from June 21 with recce using standard cars in the real Safari route peaking with "shakedown" at Ndulele Conservancy in Naivasha on June 23.

Kachapin commended the rally organisers for the work put in so far.

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