Sleepy Naivasha bursts into life ahead of Safari Rally

Sean Johnstone

Sean Johnstone and Alex Kihurani putting their Citroen C3 through its paces during the Pre Event Test at Oserian track on June 19, 2022.

Photo credit: Anwar Sidi | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • This writer went for a “face-lift” at a popular Naivasha salon and met local men being spruced up, probably to shine at the rally.
  • In small talks they told me that this is the week of “minting money” by slay queens who are on location as though on cue.

Sleepy Naivasha town has roared into life in what is now an annual ritual of merry making.

From today, life will not be the same again until Sunday as the WRC Safari Rally Week kicks off.

Local drivers will do the recce today – to familiarise with the rally route in non-rally cars - before giving room to the professionals who will do their thing from tomorrow when they get a feel of the rally route in the standard production cars.

Tomorrow, the professionals will get the traditional "Karibu Kenya" welcome at an invite-only cocktail party at the Wildlife Research Training Institute’s Service Park VIP pavilion.

Sean Johnstone

Sean Johnstone and Alex Kihurani putting their Citroen C3 through its paces during the Pre Event Test at Oserian track on June 19, 2022.

Photo credit: Anwar Sidi | Nation Media Group

This will be followed by a tree planting exercise featuring the drivers on Wednesday.

The pre-competition “Shakedown” will run on Wednesday at the Ndulele Conservancy in Moi North Road and is the place to be for every rally buff where the best drivers from top teams Ford, Toyota and Hyundai will test their machines.

The rally’s Service Park has been turned into a small city by the works teams who have erected pre-fabricated mega structures.

But it is in town where the action is.

The “Subaru Boys” have arrived by the car loads and are doing their thing: partying all the way!

This writer went for a “face-lift” at a popular Naivasha salon and met local men being spruced up, probably to shine at the rally.

In small talks they told me that this is the week of “minting money” by slay queens who are on location as though on cue.

Sean Johnstone

Sean Johnstone and Alex Kihurani putting their Citroen C3 through its paces during the Pre Event Test at Oserian track on June 19, 2022.

Photo credit: Anwar Sidi | Nation Media Group

“Do you drive a Subaru?,” inquired my salonist.

“Nope. A Mark X,” I responded.

"Good. Tunapenda Daddy wa Mark X," she quipped.

They have arrived from Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru and Nairobi, and local high-end pubs are making tidy revenues.

Broadcast rally stages live

The uninitiated are in for a rude shock, going by last year's experience when many were left high and dry by the “Subaru Boys”, requiring the intervention of a top government official who hired buses to take them back to their homes.

Sean Johnstone

Sean Johnstone and Alex Kihurani putting their Citroen C3 through its paces during the Pre Event Test at Oserian track on June 19, 2022.

Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group

The WRC Safari Rally’s official media partner, NTV, will broadcast the rally stages live with footage provided by WRC TV, the elaborate broadcast operation that covers the global series.

WRC TV has flown in a team of 50 top notch TV production professionals.

They will shoot from land and air with images sent to their London editing suit via internet, before beamed to about 150 TV stations worldwide.