LOCALS RECCE KCB SAFARI RALLY ROUTE THIS WEEKEND 

Dusty conditions will be the biggest challenge as competitors feel of the route for the 2009 KCB Safari Rally this weekend.

Clerk of the Course, Ashok Bhalla, said reconnaissance for competitors will start this weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

Local competitors will recce on Leg 1 Elementaita route on Saturday then proceed to the Leg two’s course in Athi River .

Bhalla also announced that foreign competitors will have their reconnaissance on April 1 and 2.
Planning for the event has reached a feverish pitch as organizers put final touches to their preparations.
The event will be flagged off from Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) at 1pm on Friday, April 3, through to finish at the same venue on April 5.

After the ceremonial start, cars proceed to a holding point at Railways Club prior to a 0.94Km spectator stage at Uhuru Park at 2pm. The holding point (regroup) enables spectators to view the flagoff then dash to the spectator stage where cars will go through their runs in reverse discretion.
Bhalla said the current dry weather witnessed in the country has rendered the course extremely dusty, more so, Leg 1’s Elementaita with some of the parts around Soysambu-Elementaita stage containing 1 foot-thick dust.

“I hope it rains in due course, otherwise it is very dusty out there. If it rains, the better. It will help the dust subside; but we are not canceling any stages anyway,” Bhalla explained.
Bhalla said there will be no recceing on Leg 1 A Uhuru Park spectator stage. Uhuru Park has been on of the biggest crowd pullers drawing spectators in the excess of 40,000.
“There will be no recceing at Uhuru Park . Crews will be required to walk around the stage and make their own (pace) notes. But the spectator stage should be a lot tighter than ever before,” said Bhalla.
After Uhuru Park stage, crews will proceed to service at Railways Club and onward to KICC for an overnight rest.

On the morning of April 4, crews will head to the Rift Valley with a 124Km liaison distance through to Lake Elementaita Lodge which also houses the Service Park for Day 2.
They will repeat three stages -Soysambu-Elemetaita (47.76Km), Start Gallop-Lake West (36.80Km), Lake East-Elementaita (4.16Km) before heading back to Nairobi .
The lake East-Elementaita takes crews through a very beautiful scenery at the shores of Lake Elementaita prior to a flatout dash that leads cars to service. The last stretches of this section is a designated spectator point for the day.

Leg 2 begins restarts at KICC at 7am on April 5 prior to the grand finale at KICC at 1.30Pm. This year’s event is a repeat of last year’s route with a cumulative total distance of 668.79 and 296.07Km competitive distance.