ARC Equator Rally moved to October as GP Karting scales up to 12 rounds

• The change has been necessitated by the switch of the Safari Rally
• The Safari Rally will now be held in March-April
• The 2024 season will also include drag racing

The ARC Equator Rally Kenya, traditionally held in April, has been moved to 26-27 October, according to the draft 2024 Calendar.

Unlike the past three editions when it ran as the second round of the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC), this year’s Equator Rally will be the season-closer and will be organized by the Sikh Union Club (SUC).

This follows the change of dates of the iconic WRC Safari Rally from end of June to its traditional fabled Easter dates.

Kenya Motor Sport Federation (KMSF) General Manager Mwaura Njuguna confirmed the finalization of the 2024 Motorsport Calendar.

“The Motor Sport Council of KMSF met and finalized the final draft of the calendar which awaits board approval next week. The Kenya National Karting series has now scaled up from its traditional 10 races to 12 rounds. We have also reintroduced the Hillclimb which will feature six rounds next season,” Mwaura explained.

Drag racing to be introduced 

Mwaura also announced the introduction of Drag Racing in 2024. The Drag series will feature three rounds organized by Delta Motorsport.

The first of the three-round Drag racing series is slated for the weekend of 13-14 April. The EASCR Mini Classic Rally is programmed for 17-18 August.

Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which vehicles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly around 400m, with a shorter, 305m distance becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.

The history of automobiles and motorcycles being used for drag racing is nearly as long as the history of motorized vehicles themselves, and has taken the form of both illegal street racing and as a regulated motorsport.

Annual Awards Gala

Motorsport Personality of the Year winner Karan Patel poses with his trophy.

The 2024 Motorsport season will start with the Annual Awards Gala on the weekend of 27-28 January.

The Awards will feat the most deserving personalities, and ultimately, the motorsport personality of the year.

Last year’s motorsport personality award was bestowed to rally driver Karan Patel on winning his maiden Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) title and finishing second in the ARC series behind Leroy Gomes of Zambia.

Sikh Union Autocross 1 will serve as the season’s first competition on the weekend of February 3-4. Mwaura added that the Kenya National Autocross championship will retain its 10-round competition format next season.

Eldoret Rally -organized by Western Kenya Motor Club (WKMC) -will host the opening round of the KNRC

What’s more, Nanyuki Rally will return as the fourth event of the season on the weekend of June 15-16 after a one-year hiatus.

Last year’s Nanyuki Rally Group (NRG) round was run by Eldoret after the former requested to skip their event citing logistical challenges.

The 2024 Kenyan Rally schedule is as follows:

Karan Patel flies to victory at the Zambia Rally.

17-18 Feb: KNRC1- Eldoret Rally (WKMC), 30-31 March: KNRC2-WRC Safari Rally ,25-26 May: KNRC3-KRT Rally (KRT), 15-16 June: KNRC 4: Nanyuki Rally (NRG), 13-14 July: KNRC 5: Nankuru Rally (RVMSC), 10-11 Aug: KNRC 6: Mombasa Rally (MMC), 7-8 Sep: KNRC 7: KMSC Rally (KMSC), 26-27 Oct: KNRC 8: ARC Equator Rally Kenya (SUC) and 30 Nov-1 Dec: KNRC 9- Guru Nanak Rally (SUC).

THE FIA ARC CALENDAR-2024

24-25 Feb: ARC 1-Rallye Bandama- Cote d’ Ivoire

May 11-12: ARC 2-Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally

29-30 June: ARC 3- Mountain Gorilla Rally-Rwanda

July 27-28: ARC 4-Zambia International Rally

24-25 Aug: ARC 5-Rally of Tanzania

Sep 21-22: ARC 6-Burundi International Rally

26-27 Oct: ARC 7-Equator Rally -Kenya