The 2023 Africa Rally Championship title chase continues this weekend with the second round this weekend Voi, Kenya.
Equator Rally follows Rallye Bandama which took place last February.
However, none of the ARC finishers from the Ivory Coast made an entry to the Kenyan round.
The contention for the second-round points will be local favourite Karan Patel, also the reigning Equator rally winner.
Others in the fray are Uganda’s Jas Mangat and Yasin Nasser, and Kenya’s Piero Cannobio.
Patel and Tauseef Khan in the Ford Fiesta rally5 are expected to be on top of the pace to not only defend the win but also secure maximum ARC points.
Jas Mangat has previously claimed podium finishes in the Kenyan ARC round with his Mitsubishi EvoX against R5 cars. With no doubt, his strategy will direct toward clinching the victory as he gives another attempt at ARC title.
Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba return to the ARC sphere with a rather superior car; the Ford Fiesta Rally5. It is obvious that their pace will be elevated to impose pressure for the top points.
Aakif Viran in the Skoda Fabia and Cannobia in the Hyundai will be among the pack eying ARC points from Voi.
The FIA Rally Star crews of Hamza Anwar, McRae Kimathi, Jeremiah Wahome will all be in the mix to stir up the fight at the top.
The Equator Rally will kick off with a qualifying stage on Friday that will determine the starting position for the crews. A shakedown stage of 5.48 kilometres will be covered on the same day.
Serious business will get down on Saturday and Sunday with ten stages covering 205.23km total competitive distance.