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Safari Rally looks to build on gains made
WRC champion Thierry Neuville (left) addresses the media alongside Aurelien Glay, the Managing Director of Caetano, the local franchise of Hyundai Motors at the company’s showroom in Nairobi on March 16, 2025.
What you need to know:
- The WRC Safari Rally is one of the most legendary and demanding events in the FIA World Rally Championship.
- Celebrated for its rugged terrain and breathtaking Kenyan landscapes, it draws top international rally teams and motorsport fans from around the globe.
- Beyond the excitement, the rally significantly contributes to Kenya’s tourism, sporting legacy, and economic growth.
Organisers of the 2025 World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally are looking to build on the improved fan attendance when the Kenyan round of the global series is held next year.
According to organisers, the WRC Safari Rally attracted more than 400,000 people across multiple locations in the country, the biggest attendance since the event returned to the global championship calendar in 2021.
Speaking on Wednesday in Nairobi, Safari Rally CEO Charles Gacheru also announced that preparations for next year’s event are already underway.
“From the FIA reports, we can see that we had huge viewership for this rally, 400 percent more impressions, and 53 percent more engagements. The data is telling us that the public is responding positively to what we are doing,” Gacheru said.
“The Safari Rally Village worked very well. We estimate that we had more than 400,000 people throughout the rally week, which is an incredible number. We urge the public to be patient next year so that we avoid the crazy motor vehicle traffic that we experienced on the final day,” Gacheru said.
He was speaking during the official debrief of the 2025 WRC Safari Rally, the third round of this year’s world championship, that ran from March 20 to 23.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT championship leader, Welshman Elyfn Evans, took the coveted crown ahead of Hyundai Motorsport duo of Ott Tanak, and world champion Thierry Neuville who rounded off the podium in that order.
“Members of the public also responded positively to our decision to move the start of the rally from Kenyatta International Convention Centre to City Hall Way, and we had a huge crowd.
“We did a similar thing on the final day, bringing the prize-giving ceremony to Hell's Gate and the response was overwhelming,” Gacheru added.
Besides switching the start and prize-giving ceremony, organisers added a new stage, Mzabibu, that hosted the Rally Village, which proved popular with the fans. Besides thousands of local fans, rally enthusiasts travelled from Uganda and Tanzania to watch the action.
There were also fans from as far away as Finland and Estonia.
On the final day of the action (Sunday, March 23), Moi South Lake Road that connects the lake side resorts in Naivasha come to a standstill as thousands turned out to witness the climax of the grueling rally at Hell’s Gate National Park.
Teams handling various organisational aspects of the World Rally Championship Safari Rally debriefed Gacheru.
“Despite the challenges faced, they demonstrated exceptional dedication. I’m ecstatic to finally meet the force behind this global spectacle. I am truly impressed with the performance of our teams on the ground,” Gacheru said.
The 2026 WRC Safari Rally will be the last event the country will host in the global series under the current contract with the WRC Promoter, who run the annual championship on behalf of world body the FIA.
“Preparations for the 2026 WRC Safari Rally are already underway,” Gacheru noted.
“The teams will be actively working on planning, execution timelines, and delivering on set objectives.”
The Kenyan Government is negotiating with WRC Promoter to extend the partnership that will keep the Safari Rally on the global calendar beyond next year.
The WRC Safari Rally is one of the most legendary and demanding events in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Celebrated for its rugged terrain and breathtaking Kenyan landscapes, it draws top international rally teams and motorsport fans from around the globe.
Beyond the excitement, the rally significantly contributes to Kenya’s tourism, sporting legacy, and economic growth.