The Safari Rally is the second event on the 2020 World Rally Championship calendar to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kenya’s famous Safari Rally was due to return to the calendar this year, for the first time since 2002, and was scheduled for July 16-19. However, in a statement issued by the organizer on Friday, it was announced that the event had been postponed to 2021, without specifying its exact date.
This decision was made jointly by the Kenyan government, the FIA and WRC Promoter due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on “global economies, country-to-country travel and mass gatherings”. It is the third round to be canceled after the Rally of Portugal (again due to the new coronavirus) and the Rally of Chile which succumbed to the civil revolt at the end of last year.
“We will continue to prepare for the event because the preparations are already underway and because we are impatient to welcome the professionals, the teams and the amateurs of the rally in Kenya when the event will be renewed next year”said Amina Mohamed, Minister of Sports, Heritage and Culture in Kenya. “Postponing the event to 2021 was not an easy decision, but we are aware of the current global challenges and we guarantee that the Safari Rally will mark an important moment in the history of our country as expected during the next three years. ”
“The organizing teams continue to work hard to ensure that we organize a world class event”added Joe Okudo, senior sports secretary. “We are at an advanced stage in the completion of the service park located in Nakuru county and we are on schedule.”
Before the pandemic stopped world sporting activity, the WRC was able to compete in three events even though the March Rally of Mexico was cut short by one day to allow the teams to return safely to Europe. The season is now expected to resume in Finland from August 6 to 9, even if the round could be postponed to September or October if an assessment made in June argued in this direction. A similar feasibility study will be carried out for the New Zealand Rally to be held in early September, travel restrictions being obviously the main obstacle at present.
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