Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed inspected 2020 World Rally Championship Safari Rally on Friday at Naivasha KWS Training Institute Service Park to ensure that preparations for the postponed event, which is returning to FIA World Rally Championship Series after 18 years, remain in progress.
She announced that all preparations for 2021 Safari will be complete by September, the month the FIA and WRC Promoters will review the calendar for 2021 and possibly issue a new date for all events, Safari Rally included.
Also gratifying is the announcement by WRC Safari Rally CEO Phineas Kimathi, who is also a member of the FIA World Rally Championship Commission at the same function that Safari Rally has already been confirmed in the 2021 calendar. It could retain the July date.
The Safari Rally was postponed on May 15 following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic which has affected all sporting events globally, including the WRC rallies in Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Finland. Kenya’s borders and airspace remain closed. The dawn-to-dusk curfew was extended on Saturday for another 30 days as health officials fight to contain the spread of the decease.
CALENDAR REVIEW
In an interview with motorsport-total.com, WRC Promoter Managing Director Oliver Ciesla said they are reviewing the calendar. He was hopeful that the remaining events in Europe will be held this year and if the series goes Argentina. the championship will be saved.
Ciesla said WRC officials are hopeful that Rally of Argentina will be held this year, saying they will wait until the last possible time before deciding the fate of the South American event. For WRC promoter, four to six WRC races would be a success for the 2020 calendar.
“Everything has changed since the Mexico Rally. We had to cancel it. When we came back to Europe, everything was different. We have been missing something since we can no longer organise rallies,” he was quoted as saying.
New Zealand and Japan host the other rallies outside Europe. But running them will depend on relaxation of movement restrictions by governments of these countries.
In Naivasha, Amina said efforts of President Uhuru Kenyatta has ensured Safari Rally organisers get all possible assistance. Organisers have, among other things, levelled the ground measuring 220 by 110 metres which will house headquarters and service bays for the manufacturer teams during the eight-day Safari Rally.
Amina also drove through the 11km Hells Gate Power Stage which will bring the curtain down for the Safari Rally to get a feel of it. Top drivers will be aiming for the top five places plus bonus points for the winner, which will be added to their championship tally.
WORRYING PACE
She allayed fears that the stage will interfere with the fragile ecosystems for wildlife, especially the endangered vultures which use part of the cliffs as breeding ground.
But as work at the Service Park is in full throttle, the Moi South Road is in a poor state and the pace of work is worrying five months after the contractor moved to the site.
The “dollar line” road will be the gateway to the rally routes on the floor of the Rift Valley. Tourist hotels that will host the team will be accessed through it.
Before the postponement, Naivasha was warming up for the Safari as witnessed last week in a random interview with locals. One M-Pesa agent said all he wanted is to see the Toyota Yaris, locally marketed by a Vitz, in action after being impressed by the performance of the machine which gave Estonian Ott Tanak the world title last year.
Toyota, once a force to reckon with in the Safari between the 1980s and 90s, returned to the championship in 2017 and is the car to beat.
