Kenya Keeps Safari Rally on 2027 WRC Calendar as Private Funding Era Begins

Kenya has secured a place on the 2027 FIA World Rally Championship calendar, keeping the Safari Rally at the top level of global motorsport as the event prepares for a major change in how it is funded and run.

The FIA confirmed on Thursday, October 8, that the Safari Rally will form part of a 15-round 2027 championship.

The Kenyan round is scheduled for March 18–21, 2027, making it the third round of the season, after Rallye Monte-Carlo in January and Rally Sweden in February.

President William Ruto welcomed the decision, saying Kenya's most famous rallying event would remain on home soil.

“The Safari Rally stays home. I am delighted to confirm that Kenya will host the WRC Safari Rally in 2027.”

Ruto added that the world's leading drivers would return to Kenya's plains, valleys and roads around Naivasha.

“The Safari was born on Kenyan soil. It belongs on Kenyan soil.”

He also pointed to the rally's wider economic and tourism value, saying the event supports hotels and businesses while putting Kenya's landscapes before an international audience. He thanked the Ministry of Sports, the WRC Safari Rally Project, private-sector partners, the FIA and the WRC Promoter.

A bigger change is happening behind the scenes

The calendar confirmation settles one question, but it opens another.

Who pays for the Safari Rally from here?

Ruto announced during the 2026 Safari Rally that the government would stop fully funding the event from 2027. The private sector is expected to take over responsibility for funding, promoting and managing the rally, allowing the State to direct more resources towards school sports and other sporting programmes.

That makes the 2027 edition more than another appearance on the WRC calendar. It will be the first major test of whether Kenya can turn the Safari Rally into a commercially sustainable international sporting property.

The shift had already begun ahead of the 2026 event. The government entered a partnership with private-sector players to give them a greater role in organising that year's rally. Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said the arrangement was intended to reduce the State's financial commitment to the event.

Carl Tundo gets a crucial role

The government also changed the leadership of the Safari Rally project in June.

Veteran Kenyan rally driver Carl Tundo was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the WRC Safari Rally Project through a Kenya Gazette notice issued by Mvurya. His appointment replaced Charles Gacheru, whose appointment was revoked.

Tundo is a five-time winner of the Safari Rally and brings decades of experience in Kenyan motorsport.

His appointment came at a critical point. The project was facing questions over its management, financing and ability to secure Kenya's place beyond 2026.

The 2027 calendar confirmation now gives the new management team a clear target: build an event that can attract enough commercial backing to stand on its own while meeting the FIA's sporting and operational requirements.

Kenya joins a changing WRC

The 2027 WRC season will be bigger, with 15 rallies across five continents.

The United States will return to the championship for the first time since 1988, while the United Kingdom returns through Rally Scotland. Rally d'Italia will also join the championship with stages around Rome.

The championship is also entering a new technical era in 2027. New WRC27 regulations are designed to reduce the cost of competing at the highest level and make it easier for manufacturers and independent constructors to participate. The FIA says the regulations are intended to broaden participation and provide greater long-term stability.

For Kenya, that wider change creates both an opportunity and a challenge.

The Safari Rally remains one of the WRC's most distinctive events. Its rough gravel roads, long stages and unpredictable conditions give it a character that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere.

But keeping the event on the calendar is only the first step.

Kenya must now demonstrate that the rally can attract strong commercial partners, deliver consistently high standards and generate lasting value for the tourism and hospitality businesses around Naivasha and beyond.

The Safari Rally returned to the WRC in 2021 after a 19-year absence. Its return restored Kenya to the world's premier rallying series and was also promoted as a sports-tourism opportunity.

Five years later, Kenya has won another place at the table.

The next test will be whether the Safari can stay there without depending on the public purse.

2027 WRC Safari Rally Kenya: March 18–21, Naivasha.

About the Author

Maureen Onyango is a journalist passionate about storytelling, life coaching and spiritual lessons. She studied at the Kenya Institute of Management and enjoys telling stories that inform, inspire and empower communities.