- Jasmeet Chana is the reigning champion
- The Safari rally is scheduled for the Easter weekend
- There will also be several all-women crew
Reigning Kenya champion Jasmeet Chana will resume his title defense at the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC), WRC Safari Rally (28 – 31 March) in Nairobi and Naivasha.
The former Kenya Two Wheel Drive and Group S champion returns to the national series with a new ride (a Ford Fiesta Rally2) hoping to ruffle feathers against the national speedsters.
Chana aka “Iceman” is upgrading from his traditional championship-winning Evolution 10 to a Rally 2 Ford Fiesta he’ll pilot for the first time over the long sporting Easter weekend.
Iceman will, nevertheless, need to keep an eye on his mirrors, as fellow compatriots Karan Patel, Aakif Virani, Samman Singh Vohra and five-time Safari Rally winner Carl “Flash” Tundo will pilot state-of-the-art Rally2 marques.
Tundo, Karan, Aakif and Samman have previous experience in WRC’s second tier category (WRC2) and will be fighting for a share of both KNRC and WRC2 points.
The aforementioned drivers top a bumper entry featuring 20 cars listed in the KNRC list released on Monday. With a superb mix of familiar faces and new blood, spectacular action is guaranteed in the KNRC category.
KNRC leader Samman seeks to make charge
Current KNRC leader Samman (Skoda Fabia Rally2), last year’s KNRC frontrunner Jeremiah Wahome and 2023 Kenya’s Junior WRC and WRC3 star Hamza Anwar (both in Rally3 Fiestas) are among the star attractions.
Reigning Ugandan and Tanzanian Rally Champion Yasin Nasser of Moil Rally Team Uganda is also in the KNRC mix.
Nasser is contesting a full season of the KNRC this year chasing an unprecedented hat-trick of Championship wins in East Africa.
He hopes to finish as high up in the overall standings as possible in Kenya this season to achieve his intended fairytale hattrick having already finished third in Eldoret’s season opener behind Samman and Chana.
Nasser commented on a Moil Rally Team social media news feed: “As we head to WRC Safari Kenya, I know it’s one of the biggest events that we have been waiting for and a lot of spectators will be moving around. This is a safety message for everyone: follow all the rules and regulations put on the road sides and instructions that have also been kept on the stages, not just on highways. “
WRC always a pleasure
“Being a WRC, it’s always a great pleasure rubbing shoulders with the crème de la crème of the sport. We are overly excited to return to the iconic African WRC fixture,” said Nasser who last drove in the Safari in 2021.
Last year Nasser took part in 14 rallies across Africa and emerged the winner on 8 occasions. He won his home continental round (Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally) to finish third overall on the FIA African Rally Championship log and first in both the Uganda and Tanzania NRCs.
Four all-women crews of Tinashe Gatimu/Caroline Gatimu, Pauline Shegu /Linet Ayuko, Jennifer Malik/Margaret Mungai and debutants Lisa Christofferson/Mitchelle Chao are all back in the saddle in their Subaru contraptions.
Issa Amwari is another notable driver listed in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10 and will be navigated by Nsubuga Musa, whilst career auto-mechanic Minesh Rathod is entered in a similar model of R4 Evo.
Aakif Virani and his partner Zahir Shah will pilot a Skoda Fabia Rally2, with paraplegic driver Nikhil Sachania completing the leading entries in a hand-controlled Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10.
1 #28 Karan Patel/ Tauseef Khan KEN -KEN (Skoda Fabia)
2 #101 Jasmeet Chana /Ravi Chana KEN -KEN (Ford Fiesta -Rally2)
3 #30 Aakif Virani /Zahir Shah KEN- KEN (Skoda Fabia -Rally2)
4 #24 Carl Tundo/Timothy Jessop KEN- KEN (Ford Fiesta -Rally2)
5 #29 Samman Singh Vohra/Alfir Khan KEN -KEN (Skoda Fabia -Rally2)
6 #102 Issa Amwari/Nsubuga Musa KEN- KEN (Mitsubishi Evolution 10)
7 #103 Jeremiah Wahome/Victor Okundi KEN -KEN (Ford Fiesta -Rally3)
8 #34 Hamza Anwar/Adnan Din KEN -KEN (Ford Fiesta -Rally3)
9 #35 Yasin Nasser/Ali Katumba UGA -UGA (Ford Fiesta -Rally2)
10 #36 Nikhil Sachania/Deep Patel KEN- KEN (Mitsubishi Evolution 10)
11 #104 Josiah Kariuki/John Ngugi KEN -KEN (Subaru Impreza)
12 #105 Edward Maina/Anthony Gichohi KEN -KEN (Subaru Impreza NAT-S)
13 #37 Minesh Rathod/Gordon Noble KEN -GRB (Mitsubishi Evolution 10)
14 #38 Andrew Muiruri/Edward Njoroge KEN -KEN (Mitsubishi Evolution 10)
16 #106 Ishmael Azeli/John Kadivane KEN- KEN (Subaru Impreza NAT-S)
17 #107 Tinashe Gatimu/Caroline Gatimu KEN -KEN (Subaru Impreza)
18 #108 Pauline Shegu/Linet Ayuko KEN- KEN (Subaru Impreza NAT-S)
19 #109 Jennifer Malik/Margaret Mungai KEN -KEN (Subaru Impreza
20 #110 Lisa Christofferson/Mitchelle Chao KEN- KEN (Subaru Impreza NAT-S)
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