Karan Patel eying a strong finish in 70th Safari

Reigning Kenyan champion Karan Patel has promised home fans plenty to cheer about when the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally Kenya gets underway on 22 to 26 June. 

Karan is among the 13 entrants listed in the premier support WRC2 category; traditionally a preserve of the Rally 2 marques in the FIA Rally Pyramid.

WRC Safari: Nikhil itching to rev his hand-controlled marque

Despite not finishing in the 2022 edition of Safari, Karan was among the three Kenyan drivers who scored WRC points in 2021 in an incredible eighth overall position (second in WRC3) behind Onkar Rai in seventh and Carl “Flash” Tundo in ninth.

This year’s Safari will feature ten starters in the headline Rally1 category, as well as a strong field of 13 in WRC 2.

“Keep an eye on us. We are hoping to have a strong finish and hopefully, come out as top Kenyan crew overall. Safari is still a very tough rally even for the modern cars. It is not the same as it used to be many years ago, with respect to the distances that used to be covered in those days,” he offered. 

Asked to explain just what it will take to match the world-beating priority1 WRC drivers, Karan continued, “We need the same cars as them and that means Kenya acquiring the Rally1 car which privateer cannot really get their hands on.

So, it will be nice with government support to get one of us on the bucket seat of a Rally1 marque; to show what we can do against the top divers like the Ogiers and the Rovanperas of the rally scene.”

Patel is part of KCB-sponsored three-car lineup that also has Evans Kavisi and Nikhil Sachania.

This year’s Safari will rev off with the 21 June Shakedown at KWS Naivasha where priority1 cars will savor the chance to warm their engines well in time for action proper from 22 June, culminating with the Wolf Power Stage spectacle at Hell’s Gate on 25 June.

 Rally 2 entries

11 (#20) Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson -SWE/GBR (Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2)

12 (#21) Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak-POL/POL (SKODA Fabia Evo Rally2)

13 (#22 )M-SPORT FORD WRT: Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka-LUX/BEL- (Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally2

14 (#23) Martin Prokop/Zdeněk Jůrka -CZE/CZE -(FORD Fiesta Mk II Rally2)

15 (#24) Armin Kremer/Timo Gottschalk-DEU/DEU-Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2)

16 (#25) Karan Patel/Tauseef Khan-KEN/KEN-FORD Fiesta Rally2)

17 (#26) Carl Tundo/Tim Jessop-KEN/KEN (Skoda Fabia Rally2)

18 (#27) Daniel Chwist/Kamil Heller -POL/POL- (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)

19 (#28) Miguel Díaz Aboitiz/Rodrigo Sanjuan -ESP/ESP- (Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2)

20 (#29) M-SPORT FORD WRT: Georgios Vasilakis/Thomas Krawszik-GRC/GBR- (Ford Fiesta Mk II Rally2)

21 (#30 ) Aakif Virani/Azhar Bhatti-KEN/KEN (SKODA Fabia Rally2)

22 (#31) Piero Canobbio/Flavio Zanella -KEN/ITA (HYUNDAI NG i20)