Kenyan president waves starting flag at World Rally Championship

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta waved the starting flag at the 2022 World Rally Championship (WRC) on Thursday at the Kenyatta International Convention Center in the nation’s capital of Nairobi.

Drivers will compete in the 363-kilometer (225-mile) race in 19 stages for four days.

Kenya’s Safari Rally is notorious for being one of the toughest routes in the series --renowned for almost impassable, hard to traverse, open, soft, bumpy, rocky and gravel roads.

Kenyatta said the sport contributes more than $51 million to the Kenyan economy.

“The historic nature of this rally is undeniable. Last year, a record of 78 million people in 150 countries watched the rally. In addition, the rally was of great benefit to the country, injecting approximately 6 billion Kenyan shillings into our economy,” he said.

Every sector across Kenya was sharing in the pie, including the hospitality and transport sectors as well as micro, small- and medium-enterprises in Naivasha town where the rally is being held and its surrounding towns, he said.

Kenyatta added that this year’s race is bigger and has attracted more spectators across the globe.

The President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) Mohammed bin Sulayem highlighted the need to encourage regional competitions for the sport to thrive.

“For the sport to continue to grow and to be accessible to more people, the success of regional competitions is crucial and we are proud that the African rally championships is growing strong,” he said.

Kenya’s Safari Rally was dropped in 2002 from the WRC because of a lack of finance and downgraded to the Africa Rally Championship.

After 19 years, the world rally returned to Kenya in 2021. The iconic rally was first held in Kenya in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.