Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti yesterday joined hundreds of motorsport fans at the Machakos People’s Park where she flagged off the round one of Kenya National Safari Rally Championship.
The Championship, which brought together fifteen rally drivers drawn from the East African region kicked off at exactly 8 am and was packed with action and fanfare.
Among the entrants were Karan Patel driving a Ford Fiesta, Daren Miranda (Subaru Impreza) and Machakos born Evans Kavisi (Mitsubishi Evolution) among others.
Speaking during the flagging off exercise, Wavinya said her government was looking to tap into the huge potential in the sporting industry which remains largely under exploited.
“Sports economy is under exploited in the country. My government is focused on unlocking some dormant traditional sporting activities that can be hosted here in Machakos,” she said.
Wavinya noted sports tourism was an emerging economic avenue that has the potential to develop local economies around the world.
“Machakos county is an emerging premium destination for sporting activities and my government is ready and willing to tap into this multi billion industry through partnerships,” said the Governor.
She said her government was keenly pursuing the organizers of the continental rally championships through the national motorsport federation.
At the same time, the chairman of Kenya Motorsports Federation, Phineas Kimathi said the federation was open to forging partnerships and cooperation with various stakeholders in order to improve the quality of motorsport in the country.
