Safari Rally 2025 to be more open to spectators
NAIVASHA, Kenya, January 28- The 2025 WRC Safari Rally will be a safe and spectator-friendly event- organisers promised as the countdown to the third round of this year’s FIA World Rally Championship continues.
To ensure that the event is closer to more local and visiting fans, WRC Safari Rally CEO Charles Gacheru announced that spectators will get opportunities to interact with World Rally Team stars during the four days of the event next month.
Following the shakedown on March 19 in the picturesque Rift Valley town of Naivasha, the Safari Rally proper will be flagged off in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on March 20.
"One of the focuses we have this year is to make the rally more accessible to the public. And especially, we have a big focus on the people who cannot afford to go to the stages.
"Sometimes to access the rally, you need to be driving. But there are a few areas where you can access the rally in places like Hell's Gate on Sunday (March 23).
"But, we are setting up a public rally village at Morendat Farm, which is located just 4km from the Delamere Shop as you go towards Nakuru on the right,” the CEO told reporters in Naivasha on Tuesday (March 28).
And to give spectators a chance to celebrate with the winners; Gacheru declared the prize giving ceremony has been moved to Hell’s Gate on the final day of the 2025 Safari Rally on Sunday March 23.
For the first two editions, the prize giving ceremony has been held at the Wildlife Research and Training Institute main Service Park before a switch to Hell’s Gate last year.
Hell's Gate is traditionally the venue for the Wolf Power Stage—- that is basically the event's closing speed-test where the top-five WRC crews earn additional championship points.
This year's event will also double-up as a round of the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) and the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) besides WRC support categories (WRC2 and WRC3) which will feature Kenyan drivers.
Gacheru added that rally cars will be at the Village every day of the rally.
"Some days they will be at the Rally Village to compete and some days for the autograph sessions and the days they are not there to compete, we will have big screens for people to be able to catch up with the rally."
“So we are trying our level best in 2025 to ensure the public can really access the rally and of course on television. WRC Safari Rally is live globally beamed by WRC TV, which carries out a beautiful operation to transmit.”
Gacheru revealed his team was discussing with the WRC to have feed from the event shared on free-to-air television across East Africa besides putting measures in place to ensure that spectators experience rally safely.
"We want them as close as possible but not too close to be unsafe,” he quipped.
This year's WRC Safari Rally has two new stages.
Morendat Farm in Naivasha and Camp Moran have been included in the competitive route of the fabled event that is Africa’s only round in the WRC.
Another tweak in this year's rally is the Shakedown Stage which moves from the traditional Loldia Stage to Sleeping Warrior in Naivasha.
Organisers have capped entries at 50 cars to ensure that the competitive stages end within daylight.
“All works teams have confirmed they will bring their cars and we have received a lot of interest from other small teams in the WRC 2 and WRC 3 categories where we expect to see most of the Kenyan entries.
“We have to limit the numbers due to safety concerns such as air support because as we all know, helicopters cannot fly at night,” the CEO explained.
Among the top drivers expected to enter the WRC Safari Rally include reigning world champion, Thierry Neuville of Belgium, two-time WRC champion and Safari winner, Kalle Rovanpera and his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Sebastien Ogier who recently won the opening round of the 2025 WRC Monaco Rallye.
