Safari Rally – Alexandre Coria: “It remains a special event”

What do you think of this trip to Kenya?

This is one of the events I enjoy competing in. Besides the sporting challenge, Kenya forces us to keep our feet on the ground and put certain things into perspective. There is a significant gap between our two societies. The atmosphere is always special, often with a large crowd. The short break after Sweden was pleasant, but I admit that the closer we get to the rally, the less I feel ready.

Why is that? Have you ever been to Kenya?

Certainly, but several elements have generated additional work. We had road books, in particular, but they are no longer valid. Without my knowing why, there have been many changes to the itinerary and the order of the special stages very recently. This publication has not made preparation easier in advance. Added to this is the fact that the route is 50% new compared to last year's. This includes sections that we will be discovering, such as the shakedown in particular, but also special stages that we will be running in reverse. This should be the longest event of the season, and the videos we received from the organizers show that the terrain is visibly more degraded than in other years.

Isn't that what the crews say every year?

There were some damaged sections, but I think there are even more for this edition. We'll know more after the reconnaissance, but I think there are more broken spots than before and these sections are also more destroyed. We had noticed that the road surface tends to change a lot from one year to the next. The path is no longer located in exactly the same place and in addition the holes and bumps have also changed location.

Does this mean that you will approach it in a different way than your first two participations?

We're starting to realize that this is a special event. You can go as fast as in Portugal or Sardinia, but that's not enough. You have to apply a different strategy and have the necessary perspective to adopt an adequate pace to navigate all the pitfalls. It's tough for the crews and the machines. We'll have to be even more vigilant during the reconnaissance to clearly identify where the right line is. Sometimes you have two options for overtaking a tree, and the reconnaissance will allow you to make choices, but also to create a vocabulary adapted to what we're going to face.