The Safari Rally, once the greatest challenge in the WRC has taken a step nearer to returning to the series. Its target for a full-scale comeback is the 2020 calendar.
FIA president and former WRC co-driver Jean Todt has always pushed for the Kenyan event to be back on the competition schedule. It last ran in 2002, having been a fixture since 1973. Last week WRC Promoter GmbH chief Oliver Ciesla; Kirimi Peter Kaberia, (principal secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Sports and Heritage) and Phineas Kimathi (chief executive of the project to revive the Safari) signed an agreement at the Paris headquarters of the FIA.
Todt was present at the ceremony. The 2019 edition of the Safari, which currently runs as a round of the African Rally Championship, will become an official WRC 'candidate event'. It will then be observed by FIA officials with a view to it joining the WRC calendar in the following year.
Although the original Safari Rally was noted for its ultra-long 5,000 km route and lengthy competitive sections, the organisers of the new version have adapted it to today’s WRC format.
"This is a modern-era Safari,” Ciesla said. “Traditional open-road competitive sections have been replaced by smoother special stages in private estates and conservancies and a comprehensive safety plan is in place to support a rally organised to the current WRC format.
"That doesn't mean the challenge is diminished. The gravel roads are demanding and we can also look forward to images of African wildlife and stunning landscapes."
