The World Rally Championship returns to Kenya for the iconic Safari Rally once again this weekend. With arguable the most grueling event on the calendar coming up, I decided to give all 12 stages in EA Sports WRC a go. Here's how it went.
There are certain locations that are just iconic in rallying. Rally Monte Carlo has to be one of them, or Rally Finland - but the Safari Rally in Kenya should not be amiss on this list, either. First held as part of the WRC calendar in 1973, it ran until 2002 before making its comeback in 2021. Despite this 19-year absence, its characteristics have remained just as challenging.
Drivers will have to combat dust, rocks, extremely rough terrain and the unrelenting heat. Save for the latter, all of this is present in EA Sports WRC as well - although you could turn up the heating and wear warm clothes to emulate this if you feel like it.
While European spring may not be ideal for this part of the immersion checklist, the other points are more than enough for a proper challenge. So, I set up my own Rally Safari in WRC, using all 12 stages included in the game. And I actually ran the event live on stream, so if you feel like watching how it all went wrong (spoiler alert) instead of reading about it, head to our Twitch channel to check out the VOD!
This made the car feel up to the task in the shakedown already, although I am sure there is more to extract with a very intricate setup. Despite this, the car felt good to me, as it was predictable and reacted well to me sliding it through the turns. Also, I learned that it would be important to be extra careful even in the shakedown in order not to start with a time penalty at the first stage already. Speaking of stages, you can find the order of stages I used below if you want to recreate the event.
Even the first of the long stages, the 20.2 kilometer Mbaruk route, went well, with me not picking up any major repairs. Nice. But my true nemesis in Kenya would turn out to be the short stages. More specifically, a certain spot that they all ran past.
A Left 3 on rocky ground with a considerable slope off to the right caught me off guard. And a decent run until then turned into Hyundai rolling at said slope, but getting back into the race. Fixing all this damage would be a challenge, but the next stage had a long service area ahead of it. Plenty of time, right?
The turn did come up a fourth time, and I managed to navigate it properly then. The real rally killer was a puncture in the final third of the rally. That threw me back by 90 seconds as a result of a mid-stage tire change. Should not be too bad though, right? The other long stage was coming up, and I did well on the first one, after all.
Until the second half of said long stage, this held true. Then I misjudged a braking zone, hit a tree and killed my radiator and turbocharger. Suddenly, I had hardly any power left, and the engine warning light turning red did not really help matters. Neither did the worn brakes the Hyundai had by now.
While that is not a great result, the way there was a great experience, though. Sure, plenty of things went wrong. But when you are in the zone and get a good flow going, Safari Rally is still tough as nails, but an enjoyable challenge at the same time. Plus, trying to juggle the variety of needed repairs and driving around issues I could not repair made for a great rally experience.
For those wondering how much time to set aside for an event like this, it took me just over 80 minutes of driving time to finish the Safari Rally in EA Sports WRC. Planning for two hours is probably a safe bet, as thinking about which repairs to take is not to be rushed, ideally.
One thing that should be improved, however: It is not possible to run a pre-set rally from outside of Championship or Career Mode without setting it up yourself. While it is great to have the option, it would also be nice to be able to just select a rally, maybe the length, and then just go and drive it. All without having to select each stage, condition and service time by yourself. Maybe a future update could add something like this.
Have you tried running the full Rally Safari in EA Sports WRC before? What has your impression been like? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
There are certain locations that are just iconic in rallying. Rally Monte Carlo has to be one of them, or Rally Finland - but the Safari Rally in Kenya should not be amiss on this list, either. First held as part of the WRC calendar in 1973, it ran until 2002 before making its comeback in 2021. Despite this 19-year absence, its characteristics have remained just as challenging.
Drivers will have to combat dust, rocks, extremely rough terrain and the unrelenting heat. Save for the latter, all of this is present in EA Sports WRC as well - although you could turn up the heating and wear warm clothes to emulate this if you feel like it.
While European spring may not be ideal for this part of the immersion checklist, the other points are more than enough for a proper challenge. So, I set up my own Rally Safari in WRC, using all 12 stages included in the game. And I actually ran the event live on stream, so if you feel like watching how it all went wrong (spoiler alert) instead of reading about it, head to our Twitch channel to check out the VOD!
Safari Rally Setup Notes
Now, I am no rally setup guru - far from it, actually. But I remembered a couple of hopefully life-saving settings for this rally. For one, maximum ride height should make the ultra-rough terrain a bit less terrifiying (and also avoid damage to the underbody of the car). Two, a longer final gear ratio would be needed, as Kenya has long stretches of full-throttle running. Instead of the standard 0.200 value, I went with 0.230.This made the car feel up to the task in the shakedown already, although I am sure there is more to extract with a very intricate setup. Despite this, the car felt good to me, as it was predictable and reacted well to me sliding it through the turns. Also, I learned that it would be important to be extra careful even in the shakedown in order not to start with a time penalty at the first stage already. Speaking of stages, you can find the order of stages I used below if you want to recreate the event.
- Wileli - 4.9 km (Service area: long)
- Mbaruk - 20.2 km (Service area: short)
- Kanyawa-Nakura - 10.7 km
- Moi North - 5.5 km
- Marula - 5.5 km (Service area: long)
- Kanyawa - 10.7 km
- Malewa - 9.7 km
- Tarambete - 9.6 km (Service area: medium)
- Sugunoi - 9.7 km
- Kingono - 4.4 km (Service are: long)
- Soysambu - 20.7 km
- Nakuru - 10 km
Decent Enough Start
The main goal for the Safari Rally was to simply survive. To achieve this, I tried to be as careful as possible in order not to destroy my car - Esapekka Lappi's Hyunday, by the way - at the first opportunity. And this worked out okay during the first few stages, although I was not very fast.Even the first of the long stages, the 20.2 kilometer Mbaruk route, went well, with me not picking up any major repairs. Nice. But my true nemesis in Kenya would turn out to be the short stages. More specifically, a certain spot that they all ran past.
A Left 3 on rocky ground with a considerable slope off to the right caught me off guard. And a decent run until then turned into Hyundai rolling at said slope, but getting back into the race. Fixing all this damage would be a challenge, but the next stage had a long service area ahead of it. Plenty of time, right?
Short Stage Nemesis
Well, no. The 45 minutes were not quite enough, so a few quick fixes had to be employed. And then, the same spot as mentioned before came up again. Guess who got it wrong again? And then again when it came up a third time? You would think the point would stick at some point.The turn did come up a fourth time, and I managed to navigate it properly then. The real rally killer was a puncture in the final third of the rally. That threw me back by 90 seconds as a result of a mid-stage tire change. Should not be too bad though, right? The other long stage was coming up, and I did well on the first one, after all.
Until the second half of said long stage, this held true. Then I misjudged a braking zone, hit a tree and killed my radiator and turbocharger. Suddenly, I had hardly any power left, and the engine warning light turning red did not really help matters. Neither did the worn brakes the Hyundai had by now.
Safari Rally: Dragging It To The Line
At this point, it was all about dragging the car to the finish, hoping the engine would last. Luckily, it did, and I even managed to gain a few seconds on the car ahead - only to finish a minute behind regardless. In P13 and therefore last in the Rally1 class.While that is not a great result, the way there was a great experience, though. Sure, plenty of things went wrong. But when you are in the zone and get a good flow going, Safari Rally is still tough as nails, but an enjoyable challenge at the same time. Plus, trying to juggle the variety of needed repairs and driving around issues I could not repair made for a great rally experience.
For those wondering how much time to set aside for an event like this, it took me just over 80 minutes of driving time to finish the Safari Rally in EA Sports WRC. Planning for two hours is probably a safe bet, as thinking about which repairs to take is not to be rushed, ideally.
One thing that should be improved, however: It is not possible to run a pre-set rally from outside of Championship or Career Mode without setting it up yourself. While it is great to have the option, it would also be nice to be able to just select a rally, maybe the length, and then just go and drive it. All without having to select each stage, condition and service time by yourself. Maybe a future update could add something like this.
Watch The Pros Do It Better
To see how professional rally drivers tackle Rally Safari, you can watch the actual event from March 28 to 31. Once again, EA Sports WRC gives away 3-month Rally.TV subscriptions among those who compete in the official WRC Club.Have you tried running the full Rally Safari in EA Sports WRC before? What has your impression been like? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
