Local hopeful Kavisi dreams of first ever WRC Safari Rally-Kenya finish

NAIROBI, Kenya, March 5 - The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally as the toughest of its kind in the world—- even for local drivers who practise their craft in the rugged Kenyan savannah terrain.

This year’s edition and the third round of the 2025 WRC is just over a fortnight away and the excitement among Kenyan drivers who will be part of the gruelling event has lit up the domestic rallying scene.

Group N driver, Evans Kavisi who is based in the coastal city of Mombasa is one the indigenous entries for this year’s WRC Safari Rally.

Kavisi has been rallying for seven years now and this will be his fifth Safari.

He has started three editions since the fabled event returned to the WRC calendar in 2021, having made his Safari debut in 2018 when it was a round of the Africa Rally Championship (ARC) but is yet to finish.

So, his mission for this year when action proper revs off on Thursday, March 20 is simple.

To nurse his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X machine to the finish line on Sunday, March 23.

“We are trying really hard as a team to repair the car properly, so that we have the mechanical issues sorted.

“And we want to take it one day at a time, and without overexerting ourselves, we do not want to compete with the elephants, so to speak,” he told this website.

Kavisi, who is part of the KCB Racing Team, will be competing in the Kenya National Rally Championship category of the Safari.

The career architect hopes it will be fifth-time lucky at the Safari as he counts down the hours to lights off.

“The people who will be ahead of us, let them be ahead of us. The ones we can deal with, we can measure our days as we go.

“That’s how we plan to tackle the Safari this year,” he explained.

Having experienced the back-breaking nature of the Safari—- an event that can even humble the very best— Kavisi is now preaching caution.

“The essence for the Safari is that we don’t get overexcited or exuberant; at least we can keep our head in the game,” he emphasised.

Beyond the Safari, the Kenyan is also looking forward to entering two or three ARC rounds this year.

EVANS KAVISI AT THE SAFARI RALLY

2018: ARC Safari Rally Kenya/ Absalom Aswani (#56 Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon S)-Retired
2021: WRC Safari Rally Kenya / Absalom Aswani (#50 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X)- Retired
2022: WRC Safari Rally Kenya/ Absalom Aswani (#40 icon Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X )-Retired
2023: WRC Safari Rally Kenya/Aswani Absalom (#41 icon Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X)- Retired

‍