Bengi first off the ramp as 35 enter ARC event

With the Kenya Motorsport Federation (KMSF) allowed to run its Africa Rally Championship (ARC) leg, the Equator Rally, despite sporting activities having been suspended, 35 teams have entered the event scheduled for April 23 to 25.

Eric Bengi, navigated by Peter Mutuma in a Mitsubishi Evo 10 will be first off the ramp followed by Tajveer Rai and Gareth Dawe in a Volkswagen Polo. Ian Duncan, Carl ‘Flash’ Tundo and Onkar Rai complete the top five starters with defending champion Baldev Charger sixth off the ramp.

Equator Rally is set make its long-awaited comeback to the FIA ARC series, replacing the Safari Rally which has since been elevated to World Rally Championship (WRC) status. Safari Rally Kenya will take place on the weekend of June 24-27 around Nairobi and Naivasha areas.

Equator was set to be preceded by the season-opening ARC Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally which was to kick-start the continental series on March 20 to 21 but was suspended following a spike in Covid-10 cases in Rwanda making the Equator Rally the season opener.

Equator Rally was previously the official ARC round for Kenya on the ARC continental rally series prior to the dropping of Safari from WRC in 2003. With Safari’s elevation, Equator regains its original status after being defunct for 19 years. Safari Rally took over Equator’s slot on the ARC series between 2003 and 2020. But the 2020 ARC was also cancelled due to Covid-19 issues.

It will also count towards the third round of the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC). The first KNRC round was held in Nakuru but the second one scheduled for Machakos was called off following the suspension of sporting activities by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Equator will serve as a dry run for WRC Safari. The Equator Rally will offer various Safari officials, including stage commanders, their deputies, set-up crew and media personnel an opportunity to savour a real event situation.

Various Safari officials have already undergone FIA training courtesy of Motorsport UK. The FIA’s Iain Campbell and WRC Promoter’s Joao Passos also spent close to two weeks in Nairobi and Naivasha recently providing technical assistance for Safari organizers.

Safari clerk of the course Gurvir Bhabra confirmed that the revived Equator Rally will use six special stages that will also feature in the Safari route, Elementaita, Soysambu, Sleeping Warrior, Loldia, Malewa and Kedong.