The five-time Safari Rally champion is not happy with the staging of the WRC event in Kenya as he feels it has contributed to the neglect of local motorsports.
Veteran Kenyan driver Carl “Flash” Tundo has expressed his disappointment over the WRC Safari Rally, which he blames for the woes facing Kenyan motorsports.
Tundo, a five-time Safari Rally winner, was the top finisher at the 2025 WRC 2 category won by Briton Gus Greensmith.
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Overall, Tundo navigated by Tim Jessop, was placed 14th after his main Kenyan competitor African champion Karan Patel exited the event on Friday after his car experienced issues at the newly-introduced Camp Moran stage.
Toyota driver Elfyn Evans claimed victory at the 2025 WRC Safari Rally to make it back-to-back wins in this season’s World Rally Championship, this being his maiden victory in Kenya.
The Safari Rally attracted excitement among fans, who thronged Naivasha from different countries with Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians forming the bulk of the supporters.
However, while there is excitement over the global event, which returned to the World Rally Championship calendar in 2021, Kenyan drivers are not entirely happy with its presence in the country.
“We love having WRC here but what has it done for local drivers?” Tundo posed during an interview with Citizen TV.
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Evans leads Safari Rally Kenya by nearly two minutes as Rovanperä hits trouble with Hyundai’s Tänak and Neuville closing in.
“Local competition has taken a step back. No money has been put into local motorsport from this event and that is something that upsets me.
“We are fed up and a lot of drivers are fed up, fans are fed up and unfortunately, for me it goes back to having the WRC here.”
Tundo feels the WRC event has taken precedence over Kenyan motorsports with no money allocated to local rallying as all resources are going to the host the Safari Rally.
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Reigning Kenya champion Jasmeet Chana will resume his KNRC title defence at the prestigious Safari Rally with five-time winner Carl Tundo among top Kenyan drivers on the roster.
This year’s WRC Safari Rally cost Kenya Ksh980 million to stage and it is this huge outlay that Tundo feels part of should be going to boost local motorsport and not everything being gobbled up by the global championship.
