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Local favourite Karan Patel, who is also the reigning Equator rally winner, is expected to be a top contender to retain his title. Other drivers in the fray include Uganda’s Jas Mangat and Yasin Nasser, and Kenya’s Piero Cannobio.
The 2023 Africa Rally Championship heads to Latitude 0°, with the second round set to take place this weekend in Voi, Kenya.
The Equator Rally will be the second event of the championship, organized by a team appointed under the WRC Safari Rally Organizers and headed by Carl Tundo, winner of the event in 2021.
Kenya's round of the championship will feature some of the top drivers from Uganda and Kenya, with none of the finishers from the Bandama Rally in Ivory Coast not taking part.
Local favourite Karan Patel, who is also the reigning Equator rally winner, is expected to be a top contender to retain his title.
Other drivers in the fray include Uganda’s Jas Mangat and Yasin Nasser, and Kenya’s Piero Cannobio.
Jas Mangat will put his Mitsubishi Evo X against the more powerful R5 cars as he launches another attempt to win the African Rally title. Mangat has claimed several great results, but he is yet to taste victory on Kenyan soil.
“We are heading to Kenya for a win,” asserted Mangat’s co-driver Joseph Kamya, adding; “Our challenge for the 2023 ARC starts in Voi, so we are going to drive with a purpose.”
Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba return to the ARC sphere with a rather superior car, the Ford Fiesta R5. It is obvious that their pace will be elevated to impose pressure for the front runners.
Aakif Viran in the Skoda Fabia R5 and Cannobio in the Hyundai i20 R5 will be among the pack eying ARC points from Voi.
The FIA Rally Star crews of Hamza Anwar, McRae Kimathi, and Jeremiah Wahome will all be in the mix to stir up the fight at the top.
Drivers will get to test their rally cars during Friday morning’s 5.48 km shakedown stage at the Mwatate Dam within Mwatate Estate before they take on the qualifying stage where the starting positions will be determined.
The three-day round of the African Rally Championship will kick off Saturday morning on the outskirts of Voi, where most of the competitive stages will be based around the Taita Estate.
The rally will cover a little over 205 kilometres of competitive distance covered over both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s leg will be the longest of the rally covering 10 sections, with only two stages covered on Sunday.
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