Loeb and Ogier to spice up Safari Rally action as D-Day draws near

• Sebastien Loeb returns to the Safari rally for the first time in 20 years
• WRC has already released the final list of drivers
• The Safari Rally is scheduled for June 23-26

The French duo of Sebastian Ogier and his namesake Sebastien Loeb headline a stellar cast of drivers confirmed for this year’s Safari Rally, and the two will clash for the first time on Kenyan soil in Naivasha next month.

Both megastar Frenchmen will be gracing the iconic Kenyan fixture for the second time in their colorful racing careers which have culminated into a combined 17 World Rally Championship (WRC) titles.

Loeb is indeed the most successful of the two speedsters with nine titles to his name while Ogier is an eight-time world champion.

The French speed merchants share many things in common being namesakes and compatriots. They’re both on partial WRC campaigns this season, which means that they’re only partaking in selected events.

Loeb, 48, is returning to Kenya after two decades. He finished fifth on his debut Safari in 2002 behind the wheel of a Citroen Xsara WRC.

Ogier, on the other hand, won last year’s world championship return to Africa in a dramatic last leg comeback.

On his very first outing in Kenya, Ogier told journalists that he is no longer interested in chasing Loeb’s record of 9 titles.

Karan Patel during the ARC Equator Rally in Naivasha

“Safari is a rally I have considered in my partial championship campaign of four or five rallies this year. I really enjoyed the rally last year with the nature and the people and the welcome we got. There’s such enthusiasm for the rally. I have nothing more to say, but this is the event I’m looking forward to,” Ogier told Rallying website DirtFish.

Loeb missed last year’s African adventure, but he was there the time before – in his late 20s.

“I have incredible memories from 2002. It was incredible. The design was completely different from the other rallies. The animals and everything – the place is amazing. You see things you never see anywhere else. It was good to be there and I think it’s good for the championship [to have Safari Rally Kenya].”

After winning the season opening home event in Monte Carlo, Loeb gave Croatia and Sweden a wide berth before crashing out of the Portugal round.

WRC has released a list of 34 drivers who will compete at this year’s event. A total of 12 drivers will compete in the RC1 category, 10 in the RC2 while the rest will compete in the RC3 category.

Among the Kenyan drivers who are scheduled to race at the Safari include the junior duo of Jeremy Wahome and McRae Kimathi as well as the top Kenyan female driver Maxine Wahome. National kingpins Karan Patel, Aakif Virani and Hamza Anwar as well as Zambia Leroy Gomes have also been confirmed.

The event will revolve around Nairobi and Naivasha covering a total distance of 1226.23km.

Shakedown returns to Ndulele Conservancy for the second year running on June 22, whereas Kasarani Super Special Stage on June 23 will see WRC crews recce in their Rally 1 hybrids.