Hankook Tackles the Ultimate Gravel Challenge at the WRC Safari Rally Kenya

Hankook Tire & Technology, the exclusive tire supplier to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), announced that the WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2026 will take place from March 12 to 15 in Naivasha, Kenya. The rally unfolds across one of the championship’s most demanding gravel environments set against the vast and unforgiving African savanna, company officials stated in a press release.

Widely regarded as one of the most extreme off-road events on the WRC calendar, this year’s rally shifts away from its traditional Nairobi start to focus on the harsh gravel terrain surrounding Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley, requiring drivers to rapidly adapt to newly configured high-intensity stages and fine-tune their race strategies from the outset.

WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2026 Presents Many Challenges

The four-day rally covers around 217 miles across 20 Special Stages. Deep sand, jagged rocks, vast savanna sections and the notorious fine “fesh-fesh” dust, combined with rapidly changing weather conditions, create highly unpredictable terrain. Under such conditions, tire durability, grip and handling stability become decisive factors influencing performance across every stage, noted the release.

In Rally Kenya, Hankook has introduced a new soft gravel tire specification, the Dynapro R213, engineered with an optimized compound that enhances low-temperature flexibility and delivers improved grip on wet and slippery surfaces. Its more adaptable structure offers improved compliance, helping maintain durable performance even under the harsh and unpredictable conditions typical of rally competition, the company said.

The rally is once again expected to capture strong interest from motorsport fans worldwide. Since returning to the WRC calendar in 2021, drivers from the Toyota GAZOO Racing World Rally Team have secured five consecutive victories at Safari Rally Kenya. However, the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team and M-Sport Ford World Rally Team are expected to mount strong challenges.

Since the 2025 WRC season, Hankook Tire has served as the exclusive tire supplier across all classes, demonstrating its top-tier technology and product competitiveness on the global motorsport stage. Drawing on data accumulated from more than 70 motorsport championships worldwide, including the WRC, Hankook continues to apply race-derived insights to the development of its ultra-high-performance tires.