Defending African Rally Championship (ARC) champion Karan Patel sits at the top of the continental standings following the opening day of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally on Thursday.
Driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2 and navigated by Tauseef Khan, the Kenyan ended the day in 16th overall and seventh in the WRC2 support category.
Polish rally driver Kajetan Kajetanowicz led the WRC2 category in ninth overall, followed closely by Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver Oliver Solberg, who finished in 10th.
Patel also claimed the lead in the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) category, marking a promising start in his quest to reclaim the national title.
Kenyan youngster Jeremiah Wahome, alongside his Mombasa-based co-driver Victor Okundi, was the second-best placed local duo in 18th position, competing in both the ARC and KNRC categories.
Five-time ARC Safari winner Carl “Flash” Tundo and reigning national champion Samman Vohra finished in 19th and 20th place, respectively.
Hamza Anwar, the fifth-placed Kenyan, rounded off the top 22. The former FIA Pirelli Rally Star driver experienced reliability issues during the second Mzabibu Stage.
“The rally was okay; we started off easy in Kasarani, but not bad, we’re getting used to the new car,” Hamza said. “We lost power steering two kilometers before the stage, and it took us more than 8 minutes to cover 8 kilometers. But we’re still in the game. We might lose a minute or two tomorrow to change the part, but we’re not retiring.”
