NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 14 – Behind every successful rally is a team of extra ordinary ladies and gentlemen.
In the same breath, putting together the WRC Safari Rally was not an easy task, with hours spent in meetings, training and on the ground, it’s good to note all worked out, Not necessarily according to plan, but a good rally is an incident free rally.
Behind the able WRC Secretariat Chairman Phineas Kimathi, is a team of local and international experts who work around the clock to ensure that we are able to put on a good show.
For those close to the rally corridors, you will definitely understand that there is always equipment and what rally officials call “stage furniture.”
One gentleman who has caught the eyes of numerous FIA delegates over the last two years is Aggrey Jumba who operates as the Store Keeper and runs some logistics for the WRC Safari Rally.
Jumba knows all sector heads and all the equipment that each department has been allocated, he handles the most basic of items from pegs used to put up direction signs to the more expensive equipment like the ‘jaws of life’ (spreaders and cutters) used by the TIV (Rescue Team).
During the rally season, he spends sleepless nights issuing equipment to the hundreds of crews into the wee hours of the night.
As we speak, he is still buried in the heaps and mounds of banners, equipment and signage that he has to verify and store so that it is ready for next year’s event.
-Communication channels-
A good rally needs clear communication channels. For this to happen, the WRC secretariat has organized for two-way radios that keeps “Radio Control” heart of the events communication and coordinates the daily events and activities through what they called the A and C Channels.
There were close to 180 vehicles that were fitted with radios through the stewardship of Sandra Lasoi, along with the crew from Wilken, she was in Naivasha a few days ahead of the event and had to ensure all the cars were kitted with radios in time for the event.
At the beginning of the event, she had to deal with enthusiastic crew waiting to start their official duties and at the end of the event, exhausted and impatient crew who just wanted to hand over their radios and head home.
-Seconded FIA delegates-
We rarely get to meet or hear about many of the FIA delegates who are seconded to help in various positions to ensure the smooth running of the event and to ensure that the FIA best practices and policies are adhered to.
Out of the many we managed to interact with, we would like to offer special tribute to Michele Mouton, the FIA Safety Delegate, the FIA Medical Delegate Dr. Cem Boneval and all the others who continue to help us improve our skill set and organize better events.
A special shout out to David Ryan the FIA E-Safety Delegate who took time away from his busy schedule to meet and train the MIV and TIV Units.
He trained doctors, ambulance drivers and the TIV crews in the latest E-safety processes, simplifying some of the ‘Safety processes’ that the crews had been taught.
The joint training ensured that each group understood the role assigned to others and could correct them in the event they went wrong.
Working together with the ‘Safety Bosses’ Norris Ongalo, Abbas Murbe, Michael Mwenda (Chief Rescue Officer), Wilson Munene (Asst Chief Rescue Officer) and Suleiman Munyua, they came up with the Roving Tangos who ensured that the emergency response equipment would reach any point of emergency with a competent team to support those of the ground.
David spent three days answering questions from the eager TIV group who wanted to know about other WRC rallies around the world and where we as Kenya could be ranked in regards to our adherence to the FIA safety requirements.
His knowledge transfer went far and beyond the call of duty.
The medical team of MIV’s under the care of Dr David Karuri, the deputy Chief Medical Officer and the TIV’s got a chance to put the numerous theory and practical lessons to test as they did a ‘mock extrication’ of an injured rally driver from an actual Shell Sponsored Hyundai i20.
They got to see and train with the actual rally car getting to see the emergency cutoff switches for both the car engine and battery.
This for many was the height of their experience as the team gave them a 10-minute window on Wednesday evening as they prepared to load the cars before they left for KICC for the ceremonial start. A big shout out to Hyundai Motorsports for that experience.
–What a man can do a woman can do better-
It’s nice to see ladies have not been left out of the WRC Secretariat organizational structure.
If you were to walk into the WRC Safari Rally offices in Kasarani, one of the first faces you will see is that of Helen Shiri.
The seasoned rally driver works as the event secretary, dealing with the event entries, ensures that every other arm of the organization gets the items that they require for the smooth running of the event and helps in getting important literature like the ‘Road Book” is made available for printing and handed to all those who require it ahead of the rally.
Her typical rally day starts at 4am and ends not earlier than 10:00pm, despite all that, she will always be spotted rocking her signature laugh and constant updates on her personal social media pages.
Another individual who would easily escape under the radar is Wambui Kiiru, who started off as a marshal back in 2012 and has slowly risen the ranks to the Assistant Secretary of Stewards, a position she has held for seven years.
She works along with the FIA Secretary of Stewards Yvonne Gili. She loves what she does and that can be seen through her work, he constant smile and how she relates with people.
-Marshals-
We can’t go through an event without noting the role played by the marshals. They have one of the hardest roles at the rally and tend to be given little credit for what they do.
However, our special tribute goes out to the Quarantine Marshals. A new unit set up by Norris Ongalo. Their role was to ensure the safety of the WRC 1 Hybrid cars and the Rally fans and crews.
In the event of an accident or incident where the WRC 1 Hybrid cars has their safety light turn red from green, the TIV unit will secure the vehicle and make it accessible for the medical crew to access the crew.
The TIV Unit will then move the vehicle to a safe area called the Quarantine zone where the vehicle will be stored and monitored until the crew are able to move it back to service park.
As expected, sibling rivalry is rife and some look at the TIV as glorified tow trucks and do not deserve the status they have, but let’s take some time out to figure out what they do and what they have achieved.
They kit up their vehicles to be able to tackle the treacherous routes that the rally crisscrosses, they are up at hours many revelers were leaving the club and got back to the hotel under the cover of the dark.
They kept the rally routes open, towing the stuck and broken-down rally cars out of the fesh fesh. Heck, they kept officials and rally fans moving after they got stuck in warthog holes, fesh fesh and the muddy sections of stages like Sleeping Warrior.
The TIV’s (Technical Intervention Vehicles carry the life-saving equipment such as the Jaws of life (cutters, spreaders, body jacks, V-Struts) and of this Hybrid era, the E-Safety equipment.
Under the leadership of the Chief Rescue Officer and his two assistants Wilson Munene and Suleiman M. they carried out all their duties under the close eye of rally control who was impressed by their devotion and dedication to what they do.
The team look intimidating as they drive into their respective section, confident, boisterous, friendly, positive and eager to help, they add value to every stage commander they work with.
Joe Muchiri; the new service park manager was the man responsible for the entire service park at KWS, from the Helipad to the Media Center, the Team Garages to the scrutineering area.
He stood high throughout the event with not a single accident or incident. It was his first time at the helm and the first-time rally crew and fans could mingle in the service park after the relaxing of the stringent Covid 19 protocols that had been put in place in 2021 that limited the movement of rally fans and crews.
Kudos Joe, we are sure, we are not the first ones to tell you that you did a good job.
-Social Media crew-
It wouldn’t be fair to leave out some budding talent under the stewardship of Sophie Kinoti and Alex Isaboke. These young team has been responsible for the new approach to the WRC Safari Rally’s on social media.
They have breathed life into handles that have been considered some of the best sources of updates and information surrounding the WRC Safari Rally.
The team divided the roles between some ‘young blood’ that brought their “A” game. Our sporting sleuths found out that the twitter handles are being run by Lawrence Ndungu, Instagram by Ted Martin, TikoTok by Ali Hashim and Facebook by Ashley Gituma.
Together, they put on a grand performance and continue to keep the handle alive and vibrant.
-Mechanics-
Last but not least, we have mechanics who had the uphill task of ensuring that the battered rally cars from M-Sport Ford, Toyota, Hyundai all the way to our local mechanics like Adil, Asad Khan AKA Kalulu, Joshua Msungu Ngunjiri, Kaka and Mohammed AKA “Bandi” who helped out our FIA Rising Stars, Taylon Ahinga who works with the Betika Team of Andrew Muiruri, Kinyanjui, Thomas Kisii and Dominic who kept NIchil Sachania on the road and Pepe and Kennedy who ensured Karan Patel’s car was at its best all times.
While we would love to give a shout out to every single one of you in your respective areas, for your sterling performance… praise is best delivered in small doses.
We know all the WRC Secretariat and staff spent sleepless nights trying to ensure we served the WRC Safari Rally nice and hot…. superseding expectation, give yourselves a pat on the back.
You did well; the WRC Safari Rally would not have been what it is without you. Only you know the areas that need to be worked on, and only you can make next year’s event bigger and better.
So; whether it is held in Nanyuki or Mombasa, the Capital FM Sports desk is sure that you can throw down a bigger and better 2023 WRC Safari Rally.
