Government Must Invest In Talanta Rally Academy

There were 104 seeded rally drivers in Kenya in 1992 compared to 24 in 2024, a huge drop and signs of a bleak future. Drivers had every reason to compete in motorsport to either safeguard their seeding points or aspire to increase them.

The inspirational aspect has been missing recently, even with the return of the Safari Rally to the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2021 after 19 years.

There are only a handful of Rally 2 cars in Kenya, predominantly Subaru and Mitsubishi models, which are still very competitive, but the prohibitive cost of rallying has kept many drivers away, resulting in a dwindling number of participants in the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) which has recently been attracting up to a dozen drivers only from a high of 30 and above.

But while the Safari was once a dream of every rally driver to compete in, preferences are changing amongst Kenyans, especially young drivers who banter for hours on end about who owns a well-tuned car with the highest turbo boost and loudest anti-lag noise in town. They sometimes take their fights on open roads or abandoned airstrips.

It is about time motorsport authorities either revived or expanded the competition format to fit the financial ability of all drivers. It is about time the government actualised the Talanta Rally Academy.

One of the solutions is the RX events, where you don't need to have a car of your own to race. Friends can pool resources and share the same machine provided it meets safety standards and enter the RX, a circuit racing event introduced two years ago by Carl Tundo, the five-time Safari Rally champion, who teamed up with his navigator Tim Jessop and father Frank Tundo to start this racing competition in 2022.

Last weekend's RX event at the Kasarani Super Special Stage reaffirmed that the rally scene has potential for growth back to the golden era of the 90s when Africans with disposable income started rallying and joined Whites and Asians a trend which continued up to 2019.

Last weekend's RX attracted a healthy field of 34 drivers of all ages and experience.

Many of them are young and ready to take off following the impressive performance at the Kasarani Super Special Stage, where wet conditions separated the boys from men and identified the talent in motorsport in Kenya.

The drivers were in teams of four composed of junior, female, active senior and legend, sharing the same car in each competition round from qualifiers on Saturday and finals on Sunday, a cost-effective solution to lack of resources.

The youth, some of them not legally licensed to drive on open roads like Munene Gitau, were bubbling with enthusiasm, keen to learn from the active and legendary drivers who honed their careers in all sorts of conditions like Frank Tundo, an accomplished driver of the old format Safari Rally of the 70s and 80s.

The emerging female drivers, led by Maxine Wahome, have shown keen interest in the sport, which needs a proper strategic plan for revival.

It is no secret that rallying has gone into hibernation partly due to economic factors but a lack of innovations to serve a growing population of drivers who are not necessarily keen on competing in the KNRC.

The KNRC was the epitome of rally sport until Covid-19 struck, with fewer participants recorded in the last three years.

The absence of a title sponsor, after long-time KNRC supporter the KCB Bank withdrew its support and the departure of two teams from Kabras and Multiple Hauliers, left the competition poorer.

The RX and autocross offer a clear direction for the sport, which must spread from the plateau following the preferences of a new class of competitions recently.

The RX's format is a nostalgic journey back to a glorious past when motorsport activities started with bikes and circuit racing at Gilgil, Langalanga Nakuru and Embakasi circuits. The government should also come up with mitigating solutions to return rallying back to its pedestals by unveiling the structures of the Talanta Rally Academy, unveiled with pomp on the eve of this year's WRC Safari Rally, but nothing has been reported on any progress of the academy so far.

This academy should not exist merely by name. It must be a proper rally school like those in Finland, the Mecca of rallying, which are managed by qualified instructors from the famed 'Flying Finns' stable of Rauno Aaltonen, Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Makinen.

They offer the bes