By Pura Vida Sports Africa Reporter
Traditionally, the Safari Rally has been scheduled as the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship after the opening rounds in Monte Carlo (Monaco) and Sweden but with the first two events already on the cards, and with the clock towards the official 2027 calendar announcement ticking fast, the fate of the Kenyan round remains uncertain.
The 95th Rallye Monte-Carlo will open the 2027 WRC calendar running from January 17 to 24 with the world’s oldest rally returning to the principality featuring a redesigned and fiercely demanding route including 18 timed stages with the official ceremonial start moved to Monaco’s Port Hercule.
Rally Sweden in Umeå has also been confirmed for mid-February as the second round of the 2027 FIA World Rally Championship, when the new WRC27 regulations will also make their debut and launch a new chapter in rallying, effectively retiring the current, high-cost Rally1 hybrid era.
The changes are aimed at drastically reducing costs and opening the competition up to independent tuners alongside traditional manufacturers, principally Ford, Toyota and Hyundai.
Rally1 drivers go through their notes at the Media Mixed Zone in Naivasha awaiting to enter the parc ferme between the rounds of the 2024 WRC Safari Rally. The Kenyan round's slot in the World Rally Championship for the 2027 series remains uncertain. (Photo / Elias Makori)
Complete WRC27 vehicles are capped at a maximum cost of 345,000 Euros (Sh51.75 million) per unit — representing a massive 70 percent price drop from the over one million Euros (Sh150 million) prototypes used in the previous Rally1 hybrid cycle
Chances Hanging in The Balance
With the two opening rounds done and dusted, one would have imagined that confirmation of the third round – the Safari Rally – would also have been dispensed with but Kenyan organisers are eagerly awaiting the WRC Promoter’s call with survival chances hanging in the balance as organizers race against a strict financial deadline.
While both the FIA and the WRC Promoter are eager to keep the iconic, historic African fixture on the schedule, the rally's inclusion faces unprecedented threats following President William Ruto’s announcement that the government would completely cease public funding for the Naivasha-based event after the 2026 edition, stating that state resources must pivot toward other grassroots sports sectors.
Consequently, the event was required to transition entirely to a private-sector funding model and while private backing is actively being sought, time is running out to secure the ironclad financial guarantees demanded by global organizers
Driver-turned-CEO Carl 'Flash' Tundo speaks with Capital FM's Alex Isaboke at the Media Mixed Zone in Naivasha during the 2024 WRC Safari Rally. Tundo has been pushing for the retaining of Kenya's slot in the World Rally Championship for the 2027 series. (Photo / Elias Makori)
The uncertainty surrounding the Safari Rally is highly critical as it remains the sole outstanding issue holding up the official announcement of the 2027 WRC calendar. WRC Promoter Chief Operating Officer Julien Vial and FIA Road Sport Director Emilia Abel have confirmed that a firm deadline is in place, emphasizing that the championship needs absolute clarity and funding certainty to finalize the schedule.
Aggressive Rise in Global Pressure
Compounding the strain on the Safari Rally is the aggressive influx of new venues eager for a slice of the 14-round championship roster.
Following its confirmation, the Aberdeen-based Rally Scotland is locked in for an autumn 2027 slot, complete with a newly unveiled identity and a major three-year broadcasting deal with the BBC while Rally USA’s bid is building significant momentum after successfully concluding its FIA candidate assessment in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Meanwhile, other competitors are waiting in the wings with new rounds like Rome replacing Sardinia and heavy interest from regions like Argentina, the competition for calendar real estate fiercer than ever.
Ultimately, the Safari Rally's survival hinges on its ability to finalize commercial partnerships and deliver structural guarantees before the WRC Promoter loses patience and yields its historic slot to waiting international bidders.
The Safari Rally was struck off the global calendar in 2002 for lack of government funding and safety concerns but was reinstated in 2021 after government guarantees by the President at the time, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Polish navigator Kamil Heller reads his notes while waiting to enter the parc ferme in Naivasha during the 2024 WRC Safari Rally. (Photo / Elias Makori)
Calendar Deadline Pressure
“This is the Last Safari Rally where we will be expending public money to promote. From next year this event will be fully funded, fully supported by the Private Sector...that is what Public-Private Partnership looks like," President Ruto announced during this year’s Safari Rally in Naivasha.
And speaking to the Daily Nation, new Safari Rally CEO, veteran driver Carl “Flash” Tundo, said the President’s directive made sense: “I think it should have been done a long side ago. It takes away the government burden of having to fund the event and makes it more efficient under the private sector.”
Earlier this month, authoritative rallying website Dirtfish quoted FIA road sport director Emilia Abel as being supportive of the Kenyan round, but added a deadline was in place.
“We want to see Kenya on the calendar. It is a historic and classic event for the WRC, and an important rally particularly from the region’s perspective. Our focus now is on delivering from the (Kenyan) ASN side,” she said.
Meanwhile, WRC Promoter Chief Operating Officer Julien Vial spoke of calendar deadline pressure: “We need to finalize the calendar very soon, and in order to do so we need clarity and certainty around the funding of every event. Kenya is one of the most unique and iconic rallies in the championship, but the necessary conditions have to be in place to secure its position on the calendar.”
