New season of rally action kicks off in KenyaThe legendary Safari Rally in Africa is preparing for its second participation in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge after issuing details of this year's route.
The Kenyan classic will form the opening round of the
series from March 21-23, over the weekend of Easter, and the organisers are confident of another successful event.
The ceremonial start and spectator superspecial will take place once more in Nairobi city centre, before the action runs down towards Nakuru and the Lake Elementaita region, through the famed Delamere plantations. Service during leg one will be at Elementaita Lodge.
The second leg of the rally will be run closer to Nairobi around the town of Athi River, which will also be the location for the day two service park. The event will finish by 4pm on Sunday 23 March, with prize-giving taking place on the city centre podium.
Although the Safari roads have been traditionally considered as specialist surfaces, the route has been designed in order to ensure that a normal gravel rally car can negotiate the stages without too much damage. The total distance will be 800 kilometres, of which 300 kilometres will be competitive. The official rally hotel will once more be the Grand Regency in central Nairobi. Entries will open on 15 January, and they are expected to close on March 7.
The Safari Rally, which is set to have a maximum entry of 60 cars, will also once again form part of the African Rally Championship. Last year's winner of the event was the Italian Andrea Navarra in an Abarth Grande Punto, but Abarth is still finalising the exact details of its 2008 IRC programme.
Another former winner of the Safari – but this time back in 1978 – is the IRC's motorsport development manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas.
Source IRC
