President Uhuru Kenyatta confirmed on Friday that the iconic Safari Rally contest is back in the country.
According to WRC website, Uhuru spoke after FIA World Motorsport Council approved the World Rally Championship (WRC) Promoter’s calendar.
"Efforts to return the Safari to the championship have enjoyed strong Government support and President Kenyatta and other ministers attended July’s successful candidate event at which the rally sealed its place in the calendar," WRC wrote.
The Safari Rally in Kenya will form the eighth round on 16 - 19 July and marks the beginning of the second half of the 2020 campaign following a mid-season break.
It will be making a comeback after its exit in 2002.
The sport was very much-watched and celebrated by locals around different routes in the country.
It was the toughest race ever due to its unpredicted roads and terrain.
"It was notorious for being by far the WRC’s toughest round. Rocky and rutted open-road gravel tracks, unpredictable weather which could transform dry and dusty trails into glutinous mud baths in minutes," noted WRC.
The race was first held in the country in 1953. The routes covered Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania (Tanganyika then).
The Ugandan-born Kenyan Shekhar Mehta has won the most prices during the race. He won in five competitions, which four were consecutive.