2024 Safari Rally dates changed, new timings revealed
20th October 2023
The event has been moved from its traditional date in June to the Easter weekend in March.
- There will be a significant shift in the 2024 edition as the event is
set to return to a more traditional date in March.
- The race has been taking place during June in recent years.
- This will be the fourth year in a row the event is taking place since
making its comeback in 2021.
Motorsport lovers in the country will once
again be treated to the thrills, spills and adrenaline of the famous Safari
Rally in 2024 after the governing body World Rally Championship (WRC) confirmed
the dates of the event in the coming year.
In what will be its 52nd season, the WRC
will venture to 13 destinations across four continents but there will be some
change on the calendar for the upcoming season.
There will be a significant shift for
Kenya’s Safari Rally as the event is set to return to a more traditional 28 -
31 March date during the Easter holidays, having run during June in recent
years.
With the Safari Rally synonymous for its
testing nature, the shift to the Easter weekend is expected to provide an even
sterner test as it coincides with the beginning of Naivasha’s rainy season.
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Before the Safari Rally welcomes drivers to
the country, the iconic Rallye Monte-Carlo (25 - 28 January) will once again get
the season underway before the frozen forests of Rally Sweden (15 - 18
February), the only pure snow and ice fixture on the calendar, follows closely.
The Safari Rally will be third on the calendar then the Croatia Rally (18 - 21 April), which has drawn in hundreds of thousands of spectators since its WRC debut in 2021, hosts the fourth event around the capital of Zagreb.
The WRC will then make stops in Portugal and Italy before the eagerly anticipated return of the 80th Rally Poland (27 - 30 June) which will be back after a hiatus at the sport’s top level since 2017.
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The calendar will then welcome a newcomer in Tet Rally Latvia (18 - 21 July), located in the southern coastal city of Liepaja, Latvia.
The loose-surface fixture will make its debut after years of success at FIA European Rally Championship level.
The high-octane Secto Rally Finland (1 - 4 August), renowned for its jaw-dropping speeds and gravity-defying jumps will follow next before the excitement takes a different form at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (5 - 8 September) famous for its winding and rocky mountain stages.
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The season will then head to South America with Rally Chile Bio Bío (26 - 29 September) before the Central European Rally (31 October – 3 November) sweeps across Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany as the penultimate round.
The grand finale will then take place in Asia at FORUM8 Rally Japan (21 - 24 November).
2024 WRC Calendar
1. Rallye Monte-Carlo: 25 – 28 January
2. Rally Sweden: 15 – 18 February
3. Safari Rally Kenya: 28 – 31 March
4. Croatia Rally: 18 – 21 April
5. Vodafone Rally de Portugal: 9 – 12 May
6. Rally Italia Sardegna: 30 May – 2 June
7. ORLEN 80th Rally Poland: 27 – 30 June
8. Tet Rally Latvia: 18 – 21 July
9. Secto Rally Finland: 1 – 4 August
10. EKO Acropolis Rally Greece: 5 – 8 September
11. Rally Chile Bio Bio: 26 – 29 September
12. Central European Rally - 31 October – 3 November
13. FORUM8 Rally Japan - 21 – 24 November