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Once again, it’s that time of the year when the battle between man and machine will have a fever pitch grip of the rough terrains of Naivasha from today to Sunday.
There will be sweat, there might be blood, and there will most certainly be disappointments in the course of the week before the ultimate WRC Safari Rally champion is crowned with cheers, celebrations, toasting, and popping of the champagne on Sunday.
As the battling drivers head to the start line at 8:01 am today, at the 6.31km Nawisa Stage for the gripping Shakedown, all the involved speedsters assembled their best arsenal for the task ahead on the unforgiving terrains of the lakeside town.
Guarding both the individual and team titles of the third leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC) series are the Japanese manufacturers Toyota Gazoo Racing, who, like all other seasons, have assembled a very formidable force to ply trade for them in the Safari.
Toyota has the Safari Rally defending champion, Elfyn Evans, who is fresh from a Rally Sweden victory.
They also boast world champion and record-shattering Sebastien Ogier, who is out for a triple victory in the Safari Rally, following his wins in Kenya in 2021 and 2023.
As the rally proper revs off at 16:05 hours today at the 24.35km Camp Moran Stage, the imposing five-man Toyota Gazoo Racing line up will be up for one thing, to nail another podium sweep at the finish line on Sunday, as they did in the year’s Ogier emerged champion of the Kenyan showdown.
“I’m focused on defending my title, but Safari Rally is quite unpredictable. I think I’ll need a little bit of luck to deliver this trophy,” Evans told Standard Sports.
This year, Toyota will be without their young Finn talisman, Kalle Rovanpera, who has also nailed similar individual wins (2022 and 2024) on Kenyan soil, just like Ogier.
Rovanpera, who had a torrid outing in the Safari last season, which forced him out of the rally, has been replaced, but his void will definitely be covered by another young Finn daredevil he has mentored, Sami Pajari, who finished fourth in the Safari last year in his debut.
Other drivers for Toyota to watch in Naivasha are Oliver Solberg, who won this year’s WRC opening leg in Monte Carlo, and Takamoto Katsuta, who is a two-time Safari Rally podium finisher.
Even though Toyota has an upper hand in clinching a sixth individual and team title in the rally, South Korean manufacturer Hyundai too has come of age and will be up on their necks.
Hyundai line up of Adrien Fourmaux, Thierry Neuville, and Esapekka Lappi have been tipped to give Toyota a run for their money this season, especially after spoiling a podium sweep party for the Japanese manufacturer last year when beloved Estonian Ott Tanak and Neuville finished second and third overall in the Safari Rally.
Expected to pull up their socks are British manufacturer M-Sport Ford, who had a bad outing in Naivasha last year, with their marksman Gregoire Munster finishing a distant sixth.
Locally, double African champion Karan Patel will headline a contingent of local speedsters who will also fight for points in other WRC, African Rally Championship (ARC), and the Kenyan National Rally Championship (KNRC) categories.
Patel is using the Safari Rally to launch his bid for a third ARC title. ARC junior champion Samman Singh Vohra has vowed to go for nothing but the trophy in Naivasha, just as the paraplegic driver Nikhil Sachania will be out to defend his WRC3 category at the Safari Rally.
Ladies too have not been left behind as a mother-daughter combination involving Tinashe Gatimu, her mother Caroline as co-driver, and her father Mindo as one of their mechanics, is expected to add spice to the Naivasha battle.
Standard Group PLC sponsored Lisa Christoffersen/ Christabel Wacuka have vowed to make it to the podium again in their second attempt at the ARC category.