2017 African Rally Championship

The 2017 African Rally Championship was the 37th season of the African Rally Championship (ARC), the FIA regional zone rally championship for the African continent. The season began on February 10, 2017 in the Côte d'Ivoire, and ended on October 22, 2017 in Zambia, after seven events.

The championship was won for the first time by Skoda Fabia driver Manvir Singh Baryan. Baryan won four of the seven rallies in the championship, winning in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia after the first three rallies of the season were won by drivers not contesting the championship. Baryan won the title by 35 points over Mitsubishi Lancer driver Leeroy Gomes. Gomes' best performance was a second place points finish at the York Rally in South Africa which was dominated by non-point scoring local drivers. Baryan's victory was the first time a Skoda driver has won the ARC and the first new manufacturer to claim the drivers title since Subaru driver Satwant Singh won in 1996.

Event calendar and results

The 2017 African Rally Championship was as follows:

Round Rally name Podium finishers Statistics
Rank Driver Car Time Stages Length Starters Finishers
1 Ivory Coast Rallye Bandama - Côte d'Ivoire
(10–12 February)[1]		 1 Ivory Coast Moriféré Soumaoro Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:32:01.6 12 248.22 km 30 8
2 Ivory Coast Maxime Abondio Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:40:49.1
3 France Loïc Malherbe Subaru Impreza STi 2:48:10.8
2 Kenya Safari Rally
(17–18 March)[2]		 1 Finland Tapio Laukkanen Subaru Impreza WRX STi R4 1:54:12 9 201.54 km 45 30
2 Kenya Ian Duncan Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 1:54:34
3 Kenya Carl Tundo Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 1:56:18
3 South Africa York Rally
(21–22 April)[3]		 1 South Africa Japie Van Niekerk Ford Fiesta S2000 2:24:50.3 14 205.27 km 25 15
2 South Africa Guy Botterill Toyota Etios R2 2:31:32.2
3 South Africa AC Potgieter Volkswagen Polo R2 2:35:38.4
4 Uganda V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally
(30 June–2 July)[4]		 1 Kenya Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 2:09:13 11 231.75 km 51 20
2 Cyprus Christakis Fitidis Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:19:04
3 Belgium Giancarlo Davite Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:19:51
5 Tanzania Oryx Energies Rally of Tanzania
(4–6 August)[5]		 1 Kenya Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 2:21:35 8 280.34 km 26 13
2 Tanzania Ahmed Huwel Ford Fiesta Proto 2:27:52
3 Tanzania Harinder Singh Deere Subaru Impreza STi N12 2:32:49
6 Rwanda Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally
(8–9 September)[6]		 1 Kenya Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 1:55:10 14 203.95 km 16 9
2 Belgium Giancarlo Davite Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:00:07
3 Burundi Valery Bukera Subaru Impreza STi N12 2:00:21
7 Zambia Gomes Pembe Zambia International Rally
(21–22 October)[7]		 1 Kenya Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 2:08:12 10 183.80 km 12
2 Zambia Muna Singh, Jr. Subaru Impreza STi R4 2:11:27
3 Zambia Muna Singh Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:15:21

Championship standings

The 2017 African Rally Championship points are as follows:

Pos. Driver Vehicle Ivory Coast
BAN		 Kenya
SAF		 South Africa
YOR		 Uganda
PoA		 Tanzania
TAN		 Rwanda
RMG		 Zambia
ZAM		 Total
1 Kenya Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 3 1 1 1 1 115
2 Zambia Leeroy Gomes Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Ret 6 2 4 3 4 3 80
3 Cyprus Christakis Fitidis Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 12 2 2 4 48
4 Zambia Kleevan Gomes Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 8 4 5 4 Ret Ret 38
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

References
  1. "43. Rallye Bandama - Côte d'Ivoire 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  2. "65. Safari Rally 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  3. "26. York Rally 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  4. "21. Shell V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  5. "16. Oryx Energies Rally of Tanzania 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  6. "Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally 2016". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  7. "Gomes Pembe Zambia International Rally 2017". EWRC-Results.com. EWRC-Results. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
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