Kenyan motor sports authorities and the government are to blame for the recent removal of the Safari from the World Rally Championship (WRC) series.
They are at fault because they failed to take the necessary steps even though the writing had been on the wall for the last five years.
Among the many reasons given by the world motor sports governing body - the International Automobile Federation (FIA)- for removing the rally from its world calendar was Kenya’s failure to pay affiliation dues amounting to 43,000 US dollars.
It is an established fact that FIA has been expressing its reservations on Kenya’s handling of the prestigious event for quite sometime.
The world body has been raising pertinent issues concerning the distance covered, security of drivers and spectator safety, among other issues.
It will be recalled that that FIA had initially directed the Safari Rally organisers to reduce the distance of the gruelling event that brings together top ranking drivers Carlos Sainz, Tommi Makinen, Richard Burns and Colins McRae.
Sainz, a Spaniard, has been world champion twice, while Scotsman McRae, has taken the second position in the world championship thrice.
Shortening the distance was a precondition for synchronising the event with 14 other international rallies staged under the auspices of FIA.
It was also meant to help the Kenyan event conform to international standards.
For Kenyans, aged 50 and below, the Safari Rally has been part and parcel of their lives.
The event started in 1950 as Coronation Rally, was later renamed the East African Safari Rally as the drivers used to battle it out in the then East African Community member states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
The gruelling event was a major testing ground for man and machine.
Drivers tested their driving skills in pursuit of top honours, while for the car manufacturers, it was a golden chance for testing their latest products.
The East African Community was re-inaugurated last year after a 24-year break.
But following the collapse of the first East African Community in 1977, the rally became a Kenyan event, confined within its borders.
It goes without saying that it lost part of its glamour, more so among tourists, who seized the opportunity to tour many of East Africa’s national parks, games reserves and mountains - Kenya, Kilimanjaro and Ruwenzori.
The East African wildlife was also a major attraction.
FIA first signalled its unhappiness with the Kenyan event, the only WRC staged in the African soil, in 1997, when it asked the government guarantee the safety of the participants after Kenya was rocked by violence, precipitated by the general elections.
Foreign drivers feared coming to Kenya after the country suffered bad publicity abroad following the so-called “tribal clashes” in 1997.
Thereafter, the rally suffered another setback in 2000 when FIA moved the rally from its traditional April date (rainy and muddy) to the less dramatic a cold and dusty July.
The rally lost its appeal to drivers who preferred manoeuvring their way through muddy and treacherous earth roads.
In addition, the rally lost its glamour and corporate sponsors, among them top ranking cigarette makers BAT, Rothmans and others who opted out.
Those responsible for marketing the rally failed to secure new corporate sponsors, while the government was unwilling to guarantee and bail out the cash-strapped Safari Rally Limited, which had failed to pay its dues to FIA.
The implications were far-reaching.
Now the event has been replaced by Turkey’s Anatolian Rally.
The hue and cry in Nairobi amounts to nothing.
The damage is already done.
It’s like locking the stable when the horse has bolted.
The Kenyan authorities have themselves to blame for losing the rally to Turkey
@0%_Omera
this happened in early 2000s
We all know its old. I put it up as a follow up to the TBT post by Jazzman as some villagers wanted to know what happened.
43k USD for a govt is pocket change!! Wasn’t Balala in charge of tourism when this happened?
I wonder why the hospitality sector didn’t take over, that was a big boost to their businesses. Kitu kama Serena would have invested, and handled accommodation for the pple involved.
I think given the economic trends around that time other sectors were more lucrative to invest and investors keen on getting more returns on investment opted to shift their focus.
but even though man, rally was a good place to begin. kcb have their own but it’s not really the same.
plus with the exposure it gave us, it would have really done well especially in the Kibaki era when everything was booming.
Safari rally died a natural death. I think it lost its allure and was only left as memorable moments to those who experienced it back in the day.
Those international bodies are some of the most corrupt akina fifa, fia, ioc etc. It would not surprise me that lots of money changed hand to throw suggestions that kenya was unfavourable for different reasons. Also the many extra demands make organising the event very expensive. Not to mention the changing of dates from traditional easter to god knows when.
Again with the advancement in media and peoples increased access to cars, people might have lost interest in going to watch cars. Kenyans attend events like rally and rugby for show off, booze and sex. Not for the love of the sport.
The part for booze show off and sex, spot on. Very very true. No love. Just show.
Its kinda difficult for the government to be swayed into investing Millions of dollars into a sport when there is only one African driver (he may not even be Kenyan by birth)…
How do you draw in Passionate local following?
But i still believe that the Government should have invested in it with a view to Cashing in from the Current Generation who have “New Money” and that can afford to spare some cash on weekend hobbies that go hand in hand with the world of Motor Racing.