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He told the Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba to work with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to ensure this materializes.
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“Ababu Namwamba and your team, FIA and WRC, I think it is time you consider the request of our rally drivers,” he said.
Image: PCS
President William Ruto appealed to the organizers of the WRC on Thursday to consider returning the Safari Rally Kenya to its past calendar.
Speaking when he flagged off the rally at KICC, Ruto revealed that when he discussed with the rally drivers, they requested that the event be done for five days as compared to the current three days.
He told the Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba to work with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to ensure this materializes.
“Ababu Namwamba and your team, FIA and WRC, I think it is time you consider the request of our rally drivers,” he said.
The head of state at the same time thanked the FIA for agreeing to return the event to Kenya.
The much-anticipated WRC Safari Rally Kenya will officially start on Thursday.
The rally will feature an impressive lineup of 29 drivers.
This is the fourth year since it returned in 2021.
Ruto noted that its return completes what has been the traditional “Easter menu” for Kenyans.
“We have an opportunity to celebrate Easter in style; all of us have that opportunity and I am looking forward to a wonderful Easter beginning tomorrow,” he said.
The rally was first held in Kenya in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
It was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002.
Ruto further assured those attending the event from across the world that they will be accorded a warm welcome by Kenyans with the “warmth of hospitality and generosity that Kenya is known for”.
FIA Vice-President for Sports Africa and FIA World Motor Sport Council member Rodrigo Rocha was in attendance during the event.
Promoters of the event who were also present commended Kenyans for their hospitality promising to help market the country as the best destination in the world.
WRC managing director Jona Siebel said they will use the photos and moments captured during this year’s safari rally to sell Kenya.
Siebel cited nature and the variety of wildlife in the country noting it was good for marketing Kenya.
“We like your attitude, your hospitality is fantastic,” he said.
“We promise you one thing-We will send the amazing fantastic pictures of Safari rally Kenya in the next few days out into the world and we will make many many millions of people happy out there,” he added.
Kenya Safari rally, he said, is so demanding and challenging and meets the required standards of the rallying, especially in the combination of the country’s sporting concept.