historic safari rally 2023

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The Historic Safari rally

After 19 years of waiting, the WRC Safari rally is set to take place this weekend June 23. The Safari rally was first held in 1953 May 27 – June 1 as the East African coronation safari in celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1960, it was renamed the East African Safari rally and kept that name until 1974 when it popularly became known as the Safari rally. But since 2003, the event has been part of the African Rally Championship organized by the FIA.

The Safari rally was re-admitted into the WRC championship calendar on 27 September 2019 and was set to make its debut between July 16-19 2020 but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic but it is making its long-awaited return later this month.

Back in 1953, the first winners of the rally were Kenya’s Alan Dix with his co-driver Johnny Larsen, in a Volkswagen Beetle. Kenyan driver Shekhar Mehta is the most successful in the event with five victories in 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982.

Safari is considered to be one of the hardest rally routes, with rough terrains, rocks, and hard gravel, the new breed of international drivers are in for a treat. especially after changing the testing regulations in June 2020 replacing the 42-day testing allocation with just a day for each driver. This means that the drivers will not have ample time to go through the Naivasha roads till they do recce and the shakedown event prior to the main event.

The last WRC Safari rally was in 2002, won by British team Colin McRae and Nicky Grist in their Ford Focus RS. This year, with all eyes on current leader Sebastien Ogier, the event is already one to remember. Ogier, on a zoom call recently said that it means a lot to him to participate in the Safari rally and is excited to add it to his victories. Dani Sordo, Ott Tanak, Thierry Neuville, Takamoto Katsuta, Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanpera, and other entry 1 WRC drivers will all get a feel of Kenya’s unpredictable and ever-changing weather in Naivasha and the volcanic stones that will prove hard on the tyres but an all exciting event none the less.

Kenya began a tree-planting initiative of planting 19 million trees to match the nineteen years the rally was absent in their country and with continuous updates, it looks like they are looking good on that promise.

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Rally News | March 2023

HOME » Magazine » March 2023 » Rally News » EASCR 2023

From a maximum of 60, over 50 entries have already been confirmed for the December 2023 East African Safari Classic Rally, which will mark the Platinum Jubilee of the Safari Rally in Kenya, and the 11th Edition of the Classic!   With a mission statement “To become the most exciting, challenging, inclusive & sustainable classic rally in the world,” the organising team has promised a very special event this year, with a route of over 4000kms in total, more than half (2100kms) of which will be stage miles, over 9 days.   The rally will start and finish in Mombasa and will revisit Tanzania after a one-year absence from the Classic route.   Eligible cars are up to 1985.   See https://eastafricansafarirally.com for regs and entry forms.    

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71. Safari Rally Kenya 2023

Starting order, entry list stats.

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Safari Rally Kenya 2023 data: Running order + itinerary

Here's all the information you need for this year's African challenge

Photography by M-Sport & Red Bull

Words by Rob Hansford

In partnership with eWRC-results

It’s nearly time for one of the World Rally Championship’s most demanding events: Safari Rally Kenya.

Although not quite the same as the original rally, the modern Safari still pushes cars and drivers to the absolute limit, often providing some surprising results.

And this year, with a bumper Rally1 entry, there will no doubt be plenty of action and drama at every turn.

So here’s everything you need to know about Safari Rally Kenya 2023.

Entry breakdown

Total 45 crews 10 Rally1 crews 15 WRC2 crews 5 WRC3 crews

Ten Rally1 crews will tackle the Kenyan stages – the most since Rally México back in March.

For the fifth time this year Toyota will field four cars on the rally, with championship leader Kalle Rovanperä running first on the road. Elfyn Evans is in the second works car alongside 2021 Safari Rally Kenya winner Sébastien Ogier, while Takamoto Katsuta will compete in a non-manufacturer registered Yaris this weekend.

M-Sport has three cars taking to the stages for the third time this year. Alongside regular drivers Ott Tänak and Pierre-Louis Loubet, privateer Jourdan Serderidis will make his return to the championship, having been absent since México.

As usual, Hyundai will field a three car team consisting of Thierry Neuville, Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo.

Fifteen WRC2 cars will start in Kenya but only 12 of them for points, with drivers like Oliver Solberg attending just to build up experience.

Toksport will not have a presence on a WRC round for the first time this season, but Škoda will still be represented by the likes of Solberg and last year’s category winner Kajetan Kajetanowicz taking on the stages in an older Fabia Rally2 evo.

Big players such as Gus Greensmith, Yohan Rossel and Andreas Mikkelsen are missing this weekend, and so it will give others such as M-Sport’s Grégoire Munster an opportunity to fight Kajetanoqicz for the spoils along with Martin Prokop who has switched back to a Fiesta after driving a Škoda in Sardinia.

Karen Patel (Fiesta R5) and Carl Tundo (Fabia R5) ensure there’ll be plenty of local representation too.

Drivers face 19 stages over four days on this year’s Safari Rally Kenya, but unusually the weekend gets underway earlier than normal with the shakedown stage on Wednesday before the opening competitive test on Thursday afternoon.

Some 78 miles of driving then await the crews on Friday, with Kedong being the longest test at 19.02 miles.

That will get the field warmed up for the modern classic 19-mile Sleeping Warrior test on Saturday as crews face yet another 93.75 miles of road to cover.

Sunday is the shortest day, as per the norm in the WRC, but comprises six stages (and a midday service) before the Hell’s Gate powerstage which concludes the event.

The Safari Rally challenge from the co-drivers’ seat

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Ogier wins WRC Safari Rally to head Toyota’s Kenya sweep

By RACER Staff June 25, 2023 10:59 AM

By RACER Staff | June 25, 2023 10:59 AM ET

Sebastien Ogier defied teammate Kalle Rovanpera’s charge to head home a dream 1-2-3-4 finish for Toyota Gazoo Racing on a dramatic final day at WRC Safari Rally Kenya.

Ogier (above) , who’s chosen to run only a limited FIA World Rally Championship program, recorded his third victory from just five starts so far this season. But his rally very nearly unraveled in Sunday’s second special stage, Oserian 1, when a patch of Kenya’s infamous, soft and deep fesh-fesh sand sent his GR Yaris Rally1 wide on a right-hand turn.

The Frenchman, fighting hard to recover time lost to Rovanpera in the day’s rocky opener, Malewa 1, clipped a tree and ripped off his car’s entire rear tailgate. Amazingly, he still won the stage and made all the time back, then patched the gap using a trash-can liner to keep dust at bay in the following Hell’s Gate 1.

More permanent repairs in service did not conclude the drama, however, as all four Yaris crews completed the penultimate stage with dust-induced overheating engines. Ogier, one of the hardest hit, saw his lead reduced to just 9.2s before the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage finale. There, where the eight-time WRC champ’s run was again not without incident, arriving at the flying finish with a cracked windshield from a flicked-up rock.

Despite the late incident, he was able to secure the win by 6.7s and spearhead Toyota’s second clean sweep in as many Safari Rallies.

Kenya’s President, William Ruto, presented Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais with their trophies, commemorating Ogier’s second win at the event, amid stunning scenery at Hell’s Gate.

“Unbelievable! Look at that, even on the Power Stage I got a stone on the windscreen,” said Ogier. “We had a lot of issues to face, but it couldn’t have been a more comfortable rally for us in terms of pace. A lot of misfortune but we brought it home.”  

It’s three wins from just five 2023 WRC starts for potent part-timer Sebastien Ogier. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT photo

Finishing in second place felt like a personal victory for defending WRC champ Rovanpera, who extended his 2023 drivers’ championship lead to 37 points after round seven of 13.

“You always want to fight for the win, but we did our best starting first car on the road, so regarding that I think it’s not fully bad,” noted the 22-year-old Finn. “Good points for the season anyway.”

Second for reigning WRC champ Kalle Rovanpera delivered a decent points haul in his title defense. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT photo

Takamoto Katsuta’s hopes of surpassing Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans and achieving a third Safari Rally podium vanished when his Yaris’s hybrid unit stopped working, sapping vital performance. The Japanese driver settled for fourth overall, 25.3s back from Evans, with Ogier and Rovanpera almost three minutes up the road from the third-placed Welshman.

Dani Sordo overcame power steering failure in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 during Sunday’s third stage to finish an isolated fifth at the end of a testing weekend for Hyundai Motorsport, which now trails Toyota by 42 points in the WRC manufacturers’ title race.

Of the other Hyundais, early podium challenger Esapekka Lappi was way down the order after being plagued by transmission issues in his i20 N, while Thierry Neuville, recovering from suspension failure on Friday, could only roll home eighth, almost 25 minutes off the lead. The Belgian did take the five bonus points for winning the Power Stage and maintains second in the WRC standings, but closing down a 37-point deficit to Rovanpera will be a tough ask.  

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is playing catchup in the WRC points battle after a disappointing Safari. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Tire troubles earlier in the rally prevented M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 drivers Ott Tanak and Pierre-Louis Loubet from mounting any form of attack. They finished sixth and seventh respectively, with Tanak taking the slim consolation of second-fastest time through the Power Stage.  

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Kajetan Kajetanowicz secured his second Safari Rally class win in as many years with a masterful drive in the typically challenging conditions.

The Pole cruised to Sunday afternoon’s finish in his Skoda Fabia Evo more than 11 minutes in front of nearest-placed challenger Martin Prokop, moving from ninth to fourth in the WRC2 standings as a result.  

Kajetanowicz had battled with M-Sport Ford youngster Gregoire Munster through Friday and Saturday, but found himself comfortably clear at the top when the Fiesta Mk II driver pulled over with a mechanical issue. A measured run through Sunday’s closing six special stages was all that was needed to bring home the victory and finish ninth overall.

“We did it again! It’s an amazing feeling. It seemed to be easy, but it wasn’t. Thank you to my team and Maciej — I think we did quite a good job,” said Kajetanowicz, referencing his co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is playing catchup in the WRC points battle after a disappointing Safari. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

Completing the overall top 10, Oliver Solberg’s Skoda finished just 30.6s behind Kajetanowicz’s similar car, but with only seven rounds counting toward the WRC2 championship, the 21-year-old Swede had elected not to register for class points in Kenya.  

The FIA World Rally Championship returns to Europe next month when the super-fast gravel roads of Rally Estonia host round eight, July 20-23.

WRC Safari Rally Kenya, final positions after Day Three, SS19 1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3h30m42.5s 2 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +6.7s 3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m58.5s 4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m23.8s 5 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m05.4s 6 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +9m14.4s 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Nicolas Gilsoul (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +16m15.7s 8 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +24m47.0s 9 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia Evo – WRC2 winner) +26m33.4s 10 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia Evo – RC2/non-points) +27m04.0s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 7 rounds 1 Rovanpera 139 points 2 Neuville 102 3 Evans 98 4 Ogier 97 5 Tanak 97

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 7 rounds 1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 283 points 2 Hyundai Motorsport 241 3 M-Sport Ford 174    

Check out WRC.com , the official home of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the ultimate WRC experience, sign up for a WRC+ All Live subscription to watch all stages of every rally live and on demand, whenever and wherever.

Safari Rally , WRC , Rallying

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Safari Rally Kenya 2023

21 - 25 June 2023

• Starters 31
• Finishers 20
• Distance 355.92km

Overall winners

Event photo's.

Photo's are an important part to keep the memory to the Safari Rally alive. Only the best are taken from personal archive to be displayed. They are collected over the past years and were found on a variaty of medium (including old forums!). Be aware most of them have copyright on them and you should enjoy them on this website and not take them.

Memorabilia

It is amazing how many items are still around! Friends from around the world helping a lot. There's great joy in sharing these items with you. All these items are in private collection and carefully stored and documented. The collection will never be 'complete', but slowly new historic pieces are being added. Visit the website occasionally to find the new gems and go back to memory lane.

Click and find a more detailed version of the stage maps. They are carefully put together by RallyMaps.

Explore other years

Go back and forth in time and enjoy each year of the Safari Rally.

Safari Rally Kenya 2022

22 - 26 June 2022

Safari Rally Kenya 2024 Check it out!

28 - 31 March 2024

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