The snorkels are fitted and the ride-height is raised.
After a five-week spell without any World Rally Championship action, the 2025 season springs back into life with Safari Rally Kenya.
On a rally as demanding as the Safari, drama is all-but guaranteed across all the classes. But who will conquer its unique challenge?
Here’s all the information you need ahead of round three.
Entry list
Total 39 crews
10 Rally1
18 Rally2 (16 WRC2)
3 Rally2 (2 WRC3)
Rally1
Toyota will field the most cars this week with four
Ten drivers will field top-class cars on this week’s trip to Kenya.
That means four Toyotas for early championship leader Elfyn Evans, his closest rival that’s present Kalle Rovanperä, Sweden podium finisher Takamoto Katsuta and TGR WRT2 entrant Sami Pajari.
Hyundai is three-strong with world champion Thierry Neuville, fellow world beater Ott Tänak and Adrien Fourmaux, while M-Sport Ford will run Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean in addition to privateer Jourdan Serderidis.
Friday running order: Evans, Rovanperä, Neuville, Tänak, Katsuta, Fourmaux, McErlean, Pajari, Munster, Serderidis
WRC2
Greensmith and Solberg are set to reignite their battle from 2024
A healthy 16 cars will compete in WRC2, with Oliver Solberg and Gus Greensmith headlining the entry.
Last year the pair fought for the win that went Greensmith’s way, but this time Solberg is Toyota-mounted – could that affect the result?
Greensmith is one of several drivers starting their WRC2 campaign in Kenya. Fabrizio Zaldivar (Škoda), Jan Solans (Toyota) and Diego Domínguez (Toyota) are in that boat, along with two-time Safari WRC2 winner Kajetan Kajetanowicz who’s made an off-season switch from a Fabia RS to a GR Yaris Rally2.
Karen Patel (Škoda), Carl Tundo (Ford), Jeremiah Wahome (Škoda) and Hamza Anwar (Ford) are the leading local Kenyan contenders.
WRC3 meanwhile hosts two competitors in Ford Fiesta Rally3s: Nikhil Sachania and Naveen Puligilla.
Friday running order: Solberg, Zaldivar, Greensmith, Solans, Kajetanowicz
Itinerary
Crews face close to 240 miles of competitive stages this week, starting on Thursday and ending, as always, on Sunday.
As has become tradition, the Safari gets underway with the Kasarani superspecial on Thursday afternoon, although this year the stage will run in the opposite direction to previous years.
For the first time, another test joins it on the opening leg: the all-new Mzabibu stage is another spectator-friendly route held on Morendat Farm.
Friday is the longest day of the rally with eight stages, four repeated in the afternoon, beginning with another brand-new test: Camp Moran, which is also the longest of the rally at 20 miles.
Loldia, Geothermal and Kedong are all staples of the Safari itinerary but feature mild tweaks to 2024. Loldia and Kedong have been reversed with the latter also shortened, while Geothermal has a new start section on Tarmac.
Saturday takes the rally further north for a familiar loop of Sleeping Warrior, Elmenteita and Soysambu. But in a twist, the famed Sleeping Warrior stage now runs at the head of the loop instead of the end.
With five stages totalling 41 miles, Sunday features mild tweaks to last year with the Malewa stage no longer featuring.
Instead, the day begins with a return to the Mzabibu test run on Thursday before two passes of Oserengoni and Hell’s Gate which will be the end-of-event powerstage. The finish of the stage will be different, with drivers turning right at the final junction instead of left.
