Sports Cabinet Secretary Amb Dr Amina Mohammed will flag off the African Rally Championship (ARC) Equator Rally on Friday starting at 4 pm.
Amina will be accompanied to the rally location by Sports Principal Secretaries Joe Okudo and his counterpart in Heritage and Culture Josephat Mukobe.
Prior to the ceremonial start, the CS and her team will grace the early morning Free Practice, well in time for the fast and furious mid-day qualifying stage and shakedown at Loldia in the lakeside region of Naivasha.
The qualifying stage is being used as a yardstick to ascertain the start order for the rally proper on Saturday. The ARC Equator Rally will act as a dry run for the much-awaited Safari Rally slated for June 24-27.
Speaking at the Media Centre, Kenya Motor Sport Federation (KMSF) chairman and WRC Safari Rally CEO Phineas Kimathi, said the event will enable the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to assess their preparedness well in time for the WRC Safari Rally.
"We are at the KWS Institute in Naivasha to generally carry out the final checks of the FIA ARC Equator Rally which is running as a test run of m Safari Rally return to the WRC in 2021. You are aware that Africa as a continent and Kenya as a country lost the WRC status 19 years ago," he said.
"Today 62 days before the return of the WRC, the country is witnessing a major event whose set up I'm sure you have experienced.
"This centre at KWS is hosting the service park, media centre, the rally headquarters and many other facilities like hospitality.
"We are adhering to the government directive on Covid and this is because we are wary of the times we are living in and I hope all of you will stick to the protocols.
"This centre is ready and I have gone round to establish that everything is running fine. Internet connectivity is good and you can stream live.
"Power is available and we want to thank Kenya Power for actually making it possible in good time," Kimathi added.
The Safari Rally supremo said security has equally been beefed up. We have commissioner JM Kabiru from the National Police Service, Mr Koech from the NYS and a representative of KWS, who have made sure security is tight within the rally vicinity."
Due to government restrictions on Covid-19, Kimathi said there will be no fans allowed during the race this weekend.
