Wet and muddy test awaits Safari Rally drivers in NaivashaCrews on Monday had a taste of competition conditions in the 2026 World Rally Championship Safari Rally in Naivasha, but heavy rains remain a big threat to the competition and may compel officials to cancel or reroute a number of the stages. Meanwhile, the service park has turned into a hive of activity, with different teams assembling and fine-tuning their cars as preparations intensify ahead of the start of the Safari Rally Kenya. In the opening round of the 2026 Monte Carlo Rally, Rally 3 specification Ford Fiesta driver Matteo Fontana posted the fastest overall stage time, outrunning the more powerful Rally2 machines on a mix of snow, ice and slush. This weekend also marks the 30 year anniversary of the rain-soaked 1996 Safari Rally, an event that upended the well funded Toyota and Subaru squads despite their extensive Kenyan experience. Yet the Evolution’s raw speed lacked the decades-long Safari knowhow accumulated by Toyota, Ford and Subaru.

Source: Daily Nation March 10, 2026 13:57 UTC