Preparations start early for local drivers ahead of 2023 Safari Rally

Nairobi based Skoda Fabia Rally2 ace and 2021 Kenya Motorsport Personality -of-the-Year Aakif Virani is leaving nothing to chance as he braces up for his third career World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally participation next year.

Virani has started preparation early for the Safari Rally which is slated for 22 to 25 June 2023 

"The car was rebuilt after the 2022 WRC Safari and had been stored ready for 2023. We had some expenses but nothing major.

Our plan will be to start the 2023 Kemya National Rally Championship (KNRC) season and do as many events as possible; work allowing as well as personal and family time," he offered. 

Meanwhile KNRC first runners-up Jasmeet and Ravi Chana have plans to upgrade from their longtime Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X machine to a state-of-the-art Rally2 in order to approach the 2023 Safari and KNRC campaigns a lot more competitively.

"The Evolution X has done what it was intended to, although we didn't achieve the main national championship (KNRC) goal despite leading the series in its latter stages. But all in all, we have plans to upgrade to a newer machine, if sponsorship comes through," said Chana.

Speedster Karan Patel in his Ford Fiesta Rally2 will for the umpteenth time run another busy season which will entail his spirited KNRC title defence, the WRC Safari with which he managed a top 10 in 2021 as well as the elusive FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) title which he lost to Zambian Leroy Gomes on homestretch in Lusaka.

With international lineups confirmed, the 2023 WRC season will feature a round which takes place across three countries when Austria, Czech Republic and Germany host the Central European Rally from 26 to 29 October. 

The asphalt rally will be based out of the south-east German city of Passau.

Running from January to November, the 2023 calendar will feature a number of regular stops, along with the return of Mexico and Chile for the first time since Covid-19.

Solberg to compete in a Skoda for WRC2 title in 2023

Beginning with the traditional season opener in Monte-Carlo from 19 to 22 January 2023 the snow and ice of Sweden on 9 to 12 February await drivers for the second stop as the championship returns to Umeå following a successful debut of the new-look winter rally in 2022.

The first long-haul journey of the year takes the championship to Rally Guanajuato México from 16 to 19 March before a return to Europe for the first all-asphalt event of the year, Croatia Rally, from 20 to 23 April. 

The Croatian fixture now enters its third edition and will once again be based out of the country’s capital Zagreb.

The middle of the year reflects the 2022 calendar with Vodafone Rally de Portugal (11 - 14 May), Rally Italia Sardegna (1 - 4 June), Safari Rally Kenya (22 – 25 June), Rally Estonia (20 - 23 July), Secto Rally Finland (3 - 6 August) and EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (7 - 10 September) returning with a similar look and feel.

WRC will go back to Concepción, Chile for the first time since it debuted in 2019. The gravel event will run from 28 September - 1 October.

Rally Japan will be back hosting the season finale from 16 to 19 November.