All systems are go for the start of the annual Rhino Charge in Northern Kenya, where 64 participants, only one had to pull out at the last moment, will be required to visit 13 control point scattered over approximately 100 square kilometres of rough terrain within the space of 10 hours. Supplied with a 1:50,000 scale map of the venue and the GPS coordinates of the 13 control points, each competing team will decide their own route to follow. The winner will be the competitor who finishes at the control point where he/she started having visited all the other control points in the shortest distance (GPS measured).

Winners’s details will be announced here just as soon as the race stewards have released the final audited results. The same will apply to the funds raise this year, for the host community and for the Rhino Ark’s conservation projects.

As a motorsport event supporting conservation, the organizers are deeply committed to minimizing any environmental impact that could arise from the competition. For instance, the duration of the competition is limited to 10 hours; and only 65 competition cars may participate in the event. In addition, to avoid cumulative impact from consecutive events, the Rhino Charge is organized each year in a different location.

To determine and help mitigate any potential negative impact, Rhino Ark commissioned in 2008 an independent environmental and social impact audit of representative samples of venues where the Rhino Charge event had been held. The venues assessed were Tassia Ranch (Laikipia), Swuari Lagha (Samburu), Ol Kinyei Group Ranch (Narok), and Lorongoswa Group Ranch (Kajiado).

The audit found that there was minimal impact on the sites arising from Rhino Charge activities. Recommendations arising from the audit were incorporated into subsequent Charge venues and course designs

One of the main environmental challenges of organizing such a large event with close to 3,000 officials, participants and spectators in the most remote wilderness areas of Kenya is the management of waste. In keeping with Rhino Ark’s conservation mission, the Rhino Charge Committee is dedicated to leaving each venue as they found it. To this end, stringent rules have been set by the Committee to ensure that no refuse is left anywhere in the entire Rhino Charge venue. This includes a system of fines that is strictly implemented to address refuse generated by competitors and spectators. In addition, with the support of key sponsors, refuse is collected across the venue, including the Spectator Camp and the Gauntlet.

To promote refuse recycling, a Waste Sorting Station has been set up at the venue since 2013. Glass, cans, tins, and plastic bottles, among others, are separated and brought back to Nairobi for recycling. In the 2014 event, over 60 cubic metres of refuse was properly sorted and removed from the venue for recycling.