Olivier Costa will this afternoon test his new Subaru Impreza N11 as part of his build up to next month’s KCB Safari rally in Kenya.

Costa, who had targeted last weekend’s Rallye du Nord-the opening round of the National Rally Championship (NRC), was left disappointed after learning that the event had been called off due to bad weather.

However, the Belgian-born driver, who is suddenly enjoying his newly found fame after his spectacular performance in the Kobil rally of Tanzania (the opening round of the 2009 African Rally Championship), believes that today’s 3-hour circuit in Gahanga will do him a lot of good as he continues to adapt to the car.

"Last weekend, I had a nice drive in Gahanga so I’m doing it again this Saturday. It’s still a new car to me so it’s a great opportunity for me to get familiar with it,” he said.

Things are certainly looking rosier for Costa who is currently third on the ARC charts with six points. The rally rekindled his dreams of pulling off similar performances in future races starting with Kenya’s KCB Safari rally early next month.

The KCB Safari rally slated for April 3-5 is the second round of the African Rally Championship.

Costa made headlines last month when he finished third in the Kobil rally of Tanzania. It was by far his best performance on the continental scene and received lots of applauds from his efforts.

Zimbabwe’s James Whyte leads the ARC charts with 10 points while Uganda’s Emma Katto follows closely in second with eight points.

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