Former Uganda Rally champion Yasin Nasser says he’s excited about the return of the Safari Rally to the World Rally Championship (WRC) series.
“From the beginning, we have been very excited about the Safari Rally, and we continue with the same excitement even as we await the confirmation of dates for the championship next year,” he told Nation Sport.
“We have done two Safari rallies and enjoyed both of them. We can’t wait for the next event. It’s sad that we haven’t managed to compete in rallies this year due to Covid-19 pandemic. But it’s also good because we won’t be putting our lives and those of our fans at risk,” he added.
“We have been preaching to our fans to stay safe, sanitise as much as they can and stay at home. It would have been very risky for the organisers if these precautions weren’t taken and if the Safari Rally went ahead next month,” he said from his base in Kampala.
Initially scheduled for July 16 to 19, the rally has now been pushed to a date yet to be confirmed next year.
Last Friday, Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed visited the rally’s Service Park in Naivasha to assess the organisers’ progress and preparedness.
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Apart from leading the Safari Rally as the chief executive officer of the WRC Safari Rally, Phineas Kimathi is also member of the FIA Rallies Commission.
“ My role in the FIA is as a Member of FIA WRC Commission, where I represent Africa and the Middle East. The president of the Commission is Carlos Barbosa from Portugal,” he explains.
“For now, because of the coronavirus, we hold virtual meetings via Zoom. The Commission is hoping to hold another four events to complete half of the 2020 WRC Championship.
“The commission is represented by eight countries with other members being Vice President T. Rautianen (Finland), W. Christie (Chairman of Rallies Commission from New Zealand), W. Wunsch (Germany), D. Serieys (France), and C. Cordero (Mexico and A. Barfull (Spain).
“The manufactures are represented by M. Norton (Ford) and P. Budar (Citroen). O. Ciesla and J. Siebel are from the WRC Promoter,’’ Kimathi told Nation Sport.
Did you know that…
Phineas Kimathi was the first-ever driver to score manufacturers’ points for the Hyundai Team in a World Rally Championship?
Kimathi finished 18th overall and first in his group in the 1998 Safari Rally when the competition was a round of the World Rally Championship.
Abdul Sidi is a veteran Motorsports correspondent, rally navigator, and Motorsports
