Chris Musumba
25 June 2008
Nairobi — Unpredictable weather in Elementaita and Athi River has left organisers of this weekend's KCB Safari Rally unsure of what to expect. Local and foreign drivers will be on the hunt for points in the Africa Rally Championship series despite the unpredictable weather.
The chairman of the rally's organising committee, Surinder Thatthi, said rains in Athi River and the thick dust in Elementaita will be the big test for the drivers.
The KCB Safari Rally, part of the Kenya National Rally Series, marks the final round of the East Africa Rally Challenge.
"We hope that it rains in Elementaita and it remains dry in Athi River if we are to have a perfect rallying event," said Thatthi.
"However, all this might change with each day turning out to be different as most of the areas record different weather patterns."
A total of 64 drivers, including 14 foreigners hunting for the ARC points, will take part in the rally, with 39 competing in the main rally, 16 in the supplementary category while nine will feature in the two-wheel drive. Scrutinising will be done on Thursday and Friday.
Thatthi said all plans were in place and that the rally would soon return to the nine-round International Rally Challenge, an FIA second tier competition. It was omitted this year because of post-election violence.
Foreign drivers, led by top seed and ARC defending champion Muna Singh, are already in the country for a test drive on Wednesday.
Top FIA officials jetted in on Tuesday. Germany's Wulf Biebinger (FIA observer), South Africa's Richard Leeke (FIA chairman of stewards), Jerry Bailey (technical delegate) and Uganda's David Bitelo (steward) will oversee the event.
Thatthi said while a return of the KCB Safari Rally to the IRC is certain, they would listen to comments from the FIA observers on Kenya's bid to return to the World Rally Championship series.
"Biebinger is here on instruction from FIA to see how far we have made progress in meeting the basic requirements to be considered for readmission into the WRC. We will listen to his advice and recommendation before making any further progress," said Thatthi.
KCB will be pumping in their last Sh30 million towards hosting this year's event, which will mark an end of their three-year partnership with the Kenya Motor Sports Foundation.
The bank sponsored the national championship to a tune of Sh105 million over the three years. They have pledged to return with another deal that will see them retain their title sponsorship role for the next three years.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
