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Collin Matiza
Sports Editor
ALTHOUGH motor rally died a natural death in Zimbabwe, almost a decade ago, the sport is still running in the blood of a number of drivers, and navigators, in this country.

After having produced a number of African champions, who include Conrad Rautenbach and Jamie Whyte, motor rally disappeared from the local sporting radar.

This followed the latter’s back-to-back continental championships with his navigator, Phil “Archie” Archenoul, in 2009 and 2010.

Basically, motor rally “just switched off” in Zimbabwe due to lack of sponsorship as the country’s flagship event — the Zimbabwe Challenge Rally — failed to attract major sponsors.

But, this month, will see two Zimbabwean navigators — Gareth Dawe and Gregory Stead — reviving their romance with their beloved sport, when they compete in the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya. The 2021 Safari Rally Kenya, which will be staged from June 24 to 27 in the east African country, is back on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar.

It is regarded as one of the most epic adventures in motorsport, every rally fan over a certain age can quickly conjure up their favourite memory from the WRC’s annual trip to the savannahs of Kenya and this won’t be the one to miss!

Dawe will be navigating for Kenyan Tejveer Rai in a Volkswagen Polo Gti while Stead will be doing the notes for another top Kenyan driver Dilraj Chatthe in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

The rally has attracted 116 drivers and co-drivers from around the world, meaning a strong field of 58 cars has entered for this event and will line-up at the ramp when this four-day competition revs off on June 24.

World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier of France, navigated by Julien Ingrassia driving a Toyota Yaris WRC is among 58 world’s top drivers, 34 of them Kenyans, in the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya, according to the entry list released last week by the International Motorsport Federation (FIA) in the lake town of Naivasha, 91km west of the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

All the three factory teams in Rally 1 cars – Toyota, Ford, and Hyundai — will field all their top drivers who have complimented the entry of 11 of the second-tier Rally 2 machines leading pilots. Interestingly Kalle Rovanpera of Finland, in a Toyota Yaris Rally 1, is the youngest aged 20 while Sobieslow Zasada, 2nd in 1972 Safari Rally, and last in Kenya in 1997 is the oldest aged 91, according to the official website of the Safari Rally Kenya.

The Pole will drive Ford Fiesta ST Rally 3.

Besides Ogier, Toyota’s other drivers are 2021 WRC Portugal champ Elfyn Evans, Rovanpera and Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta.

The 2019 world champion Ott Tanak, Dani Sordo, Thierry Neuville and Pierre —Louis Loubet wraps up the Hyundai Mobius WRC Team assault. The 2002 WRC Safari winners M-Sport will field Gus Greensmith, Adrien Fourmaux and Lorenzo Bartelli in the Fiestas R1.

Ford has also entered Teemu Suninen and Martin Prokok in the R2 class. Andreas Mikkelsen is the top R2 driver in a Skoda Fabia Evo.

The seeding will be done later, according to the WRC Safari Rally CEO who led the short ceremony at Acacia Gardens with Hippos in the lake Naivasha shores background.