First held in 1953, the Safari Rally was part of the WRC schedule from the inaugural season in 1973 until 2002 and earned a reputation as the toughest event on the calendar, covering enormous distances in arduous conditions. For its return, the format of the event will be closer to a typical WRC round but teams and drivers can still expect an extremely demanding rally, with rough and rocky roads as well as the potential for unpredictable weather.

Safari Rally Kenya represents a new challenge for all of the current drivers, even for seven-time world champion Sébastien Ogier – who heads the standings after taking his third victory of the campaign on the previous event, Rally Italia Sardegna. Ogier’s Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans is 11 points behind in second place, with a further 18 points back to Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville in third.

Ott Tänak is 57 points behind the series leader after losing his chance for victory in Sardinia and will be battling it out in Kenya to regain ground. Similar can be said for Ogier and Evans’s team-mate Kalle Rovanperä, who is sixth in the championship behind Toyota’s Japanese protege Takamoto Katsuta. Adrien Fourmaux returns to M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta WRC line-up for Kenya alongside Gus Greensmith, with Lorenzo Bertelli also taking up the chance to experience the Safari. Nineteen-year-old Oliver Solberg, meanwhile, gets his second outing in a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, replacing Pierre-Louis Loubet in the 2C Compétition entry, on an event where his father Petter made his WRC breakthrough after a last-minute call-up to the Ford team in 1999.

In FIA WRC2, Martin Prokop makes the trip to Africa in his Ford Fiesta Rally2 entered by M-Sport. The FIA WRC3 entry features a number of Kenyan stars including five-time Safari Rally winner Carl Tundo and Onkar Rai, as well as Polish debutant Daniel Chwist, whose 91-year-old grandfather Sobiesław Zasada makes his ninth Safari Rally start aboard a Ford Fiesta Rally3.

 

THE 2021 ROUTE

Safari Rally Kenya will feature 18 stages and a total of 320.19 competitive kilometres. Shakedown will be held earlier than usual, on Wednesday afternoon, close to the Service Park on the shores of Lake Naivasha. The rally will then start from the capital city Nairobi on Thursday afternoon, followed by an opening super special stage in nearby Kasarani. The rest of the rally takes place around Naivasha, with Friday featuring a trio of stages on the lake’s southern shores to all be run twice. Saturday’s format is the same but takes place further north near Lake Elmenteita. A total of five stages bring the rally to a close on Sunday, with the Hells Gate test to host the deciding Wolf Power Stage.

 

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

Media accreditation and attendance is strictly managed with modified terms under COVID-19 regulations. All attendees are required to comply with the COVID protocol as defined by the event organisers (please refer to Bulletin 1 - see the Virtual Notice Board in the Competitors section on the event website).

Media accreditation must be collected personally by accredited Pass Holders at the Accreditation Desk, located at the Media Center, Naivasha Service Park (next to the Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute).

Google Maps link: https://goo.gl/maps/AQoUmstcSdGXEGek7 (coordinates: 0°44'35.2"S 36°27'03.0"E)

The opening hours are:

Monday 21 June:14h00 – 20h00Tuesday 22 June: 08h00 – 20h00Wednesday 23 June: 08h00 – 20h00Thursday 24 June:  08h00 – 18:00Friday 25 June:07h00 – 14h00

 

2021 WRC SAFARI RALLY KENYA TIMETABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

Tuesday 22 June Mandatory media safety briefing via video conference (details TBC)18:00 hrs  Wednesday 23 June  Shakedown for Priority drivers, Loldia13:00 – 15:00 hrsShakedown for all drivers, Loldia15:00 – 17:30 hrsFIA Press Conference, via video conference (details TBC)16:00 hrs- FIA WRC2 and WRC316:00 hrs- FIA WRC16:10 hrs- Non-priority guest drivers16:20 hrs  Thursday 24 June Ceremonial start, Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC), Nairobi10:00 hrsMedia Zone with P1 drivers for local & internat. accredited media, KICC10:15 hrsFamily photo with P1 crews (drivers & codrivers), KICC11:15 hrsWelcome to Safari Rally Kenya speeches11:45 hrsIn the presence of His Excellency Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, Dr. Amina Mohammed, Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Heritage and Culture of Kenya, Jean Todt, FIA President. FIA Safe & Affordable Helmet launch12:15 hrsIn the presence of His Excellency Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, Dr. Amina Mohammed, Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Heritage and Culture of Kenya, Jean Todt, FIA President, László Palkovics, Minister for Innovation and Technology of Hungary. Rally start (start of Section 1), KICC start ramp12:46 hrs  Friday 25 June Start of Section 2, Naivasha Service Park07:00 hrsFirst car arrives for media zone, tech. zone & service (TC4A), Naivasha SP11:42 hrsFirst car arrives for media zone, tech. zone, & service (TC7A), Naivasha SP17:19 hrs  Saturday 26 June Start of Section 4, Naivasha Service Park06:55 hrsFirst car arrives for MZ, regroup, tech. zone & service (TC10A), Naivasha SP11:57 hrsFirst car arrives for media zone, technical zone & service (TC13A), SP17:57 hrs  Sunday 27 June Start of Section 6, Naivasha Service Park06:25 hrsFirst car arrives for media zone before checking in at TC18A, Naivasha SP14:07 hrsPodium Ceremony & Price Giving, Naivasha Service Park15:00 hrsFIA Press Conference, via video conference (details TBC)16:15 hrs

 

FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

Wednesday 23 JuneFIA WRC2 & WRC3  WRC2 - M-Sport Ford WRT - Martin Prokop (CZE), Ford Fiesta Mk II WRC3 - Onkar Rai (KEN), Volkswage, Polo GTI WRC3 - Carl Tundo (KEN), Volkswagen Polo GTI   FIA WRC Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – Sébastien Ogier (FRA) Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT – Thierry Neuville (BEL) M-Sport Ford WRT – Adrien Fourmaux (FRA) Toyota Gazoo Racing -  Takamoto Katsuta (JAP)   NON-PRIORITY GUEST DRIVERS Sobiesław Zasada (POL), Ford Fiesta ST Rally3 McRae Kimathi, Ford Fiesta ST Rally3 Nikhil Sachania (KEN), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X  Sunday 27 JuneWinning FIA WRC3 Championship driver Winning FIA WRC2 Championship driver Top three drivers in the overall classification Representative of the winning manufacturer

 

MANUFACTURER WRC ENTRIES, 2021 WRC SAFARI RALLY KENYA

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRTSébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA) - #1 Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR) - #33 Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) / Jonne Halttunen (FIN) - #69  Hyundai Shell Mobis WRTThierry Neuville (BEL) / Martin Wydaeghe (BEL) - #11 Ott Tänak (EST) / Martin Järveoja (EST) - #8 Dani Sordo (ESP) / Borja Rozada (ESP) - #6  M-Sport Ford WRTGus Greensmith (GBR) / Chris Patterson (IRL) - #44 Adrien Fourmaux (FRA) / Renaud Jamoul (BEL) - #3