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 Rallye Bandama - Côte d'Ivoire(10–12 February)1 Moriféré Soumaoro Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:32:01.6 12248.22 km 30 82 Maxime Abondio Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:40:49.13 Loïc Malherbe Subaru Impreza STi 2:48:10.8 2 Safari Rally(17–18 March)1 Tapio Laukkanen Subaru Impreza WRX STi R4 1:54:12 9 201.54 km 45 302 Ian Duncan Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 1:54:343 Carl Tundo Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 1:56:18 3 York Rally(21–22 April)1 Japie Van Niekerk Ford Fiesta S2000 2:24:50.3 14205.27 km 25 152 Guy Botterill Toyota Etios R2 2:31:32.23 AC Potgieter Volkswagen Polo R2 2:35:38.4 4 V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally(30 June–2 July)1 Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 2:09:13 11 231.75 km 51 202 Christakis Fitidis Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:19:043 Giancarlo Davite Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:19:51 5 Oryx Energies Rally of Tanzania(4–6 August)1 Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 2:21:35 8 280.34 km 26 132 Ahmed Huwel Ford Fiesta Proto 2:27:523 Harinder Singh Deere Subaru Impreza STi N12 2:32:49 6 Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally(8–9 September)1 Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 1:55:10 14 203.95 km 16 92 Giancarlo Davite Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 2:00:073 Valery Bukera Subaru Impreza STi N12 2:00:21 7 Gomes Pembe Zambia International Rally(21–22 October)1 Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 2:08:12 10 183.80 km 122 Muna Singh, Jr. Subaru Impreza STi R4 2:11:273 Muna Singh Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:15:21
Championship standings The 2017 African Rally Championship points are as follows: Driver Vehicle BAN SAF YOR PoA TAN RMG ZAM Total 1 Manvir Singh Baryan Škoda Fabia R5 3 1 1 1 1 115 2 Leeroy Gomes Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Ret 6 2 4 3 4 3 80 3 Christakis Fitidis Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X 12 2 2 4 48 4 Kleevan Gomes Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 8 4 5 4 Ret Ret 38
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