NAIROBI, March 15 (Xinhua) -- There will be no love lost when reigning African champion Manvir Baryan and Jaspreet Singh Chatthe of Kenya clash in the Safari Rally, which will be flagged off in Nairobi on Friday.
Baryan, who is putting his title on the line, knows that Chatthe, the 2015 Africa champion, is doing everything to recapture the title. However, the two will be part of over 40 drivers who are eyeing the continental championships medals.
The Safari rally serves as the second leg of the Africa rally Championship. The first round was held last month in Ivory Coast.
Heavy rains pounding Kenya will make the event slippery and muddy, a tribute that has made Safari Rally unique over the years.
Baryan will be keen to consolidate his position having cruised to the top with continental series wins in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia.
The seven leg Africa Rally Championship is contested in Ivory Coast, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Phineas Kimathi, the head of Safari Rally Project, is pushing for the event to be readmitted in the World Rally Championships, said on Thursday that top Kenyan driver Ian Duncan will skip the race.
Also sitting out will be Safari rally defending champion Tapio Laukkanen from Finland, who is taking a sabbatical from the sport this season.
"Kenya is seeking to launch its World Rally Championship candidature in May for 2019 in anticipation of rejoining the global series in 2020," Kimathi said on Thursday.
Already World motor cross governing body FIA has sent two officials to Nairobi to oversee the organization of the race and report back after its President Joan Todt visited Kenya last month.
The officials Gilles Simon, the FIA head of technical matters and Olivier Ciesla, the WRC Promoter Managing Director are in Kenya as rally observers.
The Safari rally was dropped from the 14-tier World Rally Championship in 2002 for lack of government support, lack of sponsorship and safety concerns.
The rally, which this year celebrates its 66th running, gets underway from its traditional Nairobi venue. The total competitive mileage from nine stages will be 200km with a liaison distance of 359km and a total of 559km.
