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As the star drivers in the WRC calendar prepare for Wednesday’s shakedown, excitement is also building for Safari Rally’s local entries.

Reconnaissance is scheduled for today and this will pave the way for Wednesday’s Shakedown at Loldia where Priority 1 World Rally Teams have a chance to warm up their engines prior to action proper which revs-off on Thursday through to Sunday.

This year’s entry list has 10 top-level Rally1 Hybrid cars, 11 WRC2 runners plus a five-strong WRC3 line-up which has the three-car KQ/Safaricom trio of McRae Kimathi, Jeremiah Wahome and Hamza Anwar.

Four Kenyan drivers Evans Kavisi, Nikhil Sachania (both of Team KCB), Minesh Rathod and Josiah Kariuki (Subaru) are listed in the National category.

Over and above the four National entries, another 11 drivers have signed up to contest in the KNRC Safari Rally category where local championship points will be up for grabs.

They are current KNRC leader Jasmeet Chana, Issa Amwari, Amman Shah, Natasha Tundo, Edward Maina, Gerald Maina (G Captain), Andrew Muiruri, Kay Wachira, Jenifer Ayietsa, Pauline Sheghu and Tinashe Gatimu.

Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier – winners of the previous two editions – will both field Toyota GR Yaris cars along with Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, the Japanese star twice a podium finisher in Kenya.

Hyundai Motorsport has entered a trio of i20 Ns for Esapekka Lappi, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo, while Ott Tänak, Pierre-Louis Loubet and privateer Jourdan Serderidis will pilot M-Sport Ford Pumas.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz tops the WRC2 entry in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, while other entrants in the premier support category include Grégoire Munster (Ford Fiesta Rally2) and KCB-sponsored Karan Patel (Ford Fiesta R5).

This year’s WRC Safari Rally is sponsored by KCB Bank, the Government of Kenya, Talanta Hela, Kenya Wildlife Service and Toyota Kenya Among others.