Kenyan junior rally sensation McRae Kimathi is rearing to go ahead of the all-tarmac FIA Junior World Rally Championship in Croatia set to be held in Zagreb, Croatia from Thursday.

The event is scheduled to take place on April 21-24 in the Croatian capital and its outskirts and is expected to be an action-packed session with more than 10 rally cars taking part.  


Kimathi will be aided by his navigator Mwangi Kioni as they compete in the inaugural WRC Croatia Rally after finishing fourth in the Sweden Rally last month earning 12 points.

He is the only Kenyan and African rally driver taking part under the FIA Junior World Rally Championship category and will be driving a Ford Fiesta 3 while carrying the Kenyan flag.


Kimathi landed in Zagreb from Nairobi on Thursday and is expected back in Kenya on April 27 after the event.

He was accompanied to the Croatian rally by Sophie Kinoti, the Chef-de-Mission for Team Kenya in Europe and former rally driver Tapio Laukhanen, the European team manager.


The 2021 FIA Junior WRC Championship will see a total of eight crews from various countries go head-to-head on some of WRC’s most iconic gravel and asphalt roads.

The Croatia Rally is also expected to test the abilities and experience of drivers due to the abundance of surface and elevation changes found on the 300km competitive route.


The 2021 Junior WRC drivers are tested winners in Rally4 categories across the world and raced on varied surfaces and many have already been successful in the Junior WRC.

A total of 64 crews will take part in one of the championship’s most competitive seasons in its 20-year history; 11 being Priority 1, 29 Priority 2, 10 Priority 3 and 14 Non-Priority crews.