- He has posted podium finishes in the first two rallies
- He has accrued 51 points so far
- The next rally will be in Nakuru in May
Jasmeet Chana, commonly referred to as “Iceman” in the local rallying circles believes his recent past form has reignited title hopes admitting he is driving better than ever.
Iceman leapfrogged to the summit of the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) log following back-to-back podium finishes he posted in February’s season-opening RSC Machakos Rally and Voi based ARC Equator Rally Kenya in March.
The former 2WD and Group S champion finished second in Machakos Rally and third in Voi to catapult to the top of the national rally series. But third overall in Voi saw him rank second on the KNRC front in terms of points.
The Nairobi-based driver believes he is in top form having delivered impressive performances of his KNRC career over the past two seasons; with gutsy drives which saw him finish second overall in the 2022 KNRC standings last season behind Karan Patel.
“I think last year we drove at 90-percent. This year will make sure we achieve 100-percent. The 10-percent which was lacking, in my opinion, was because we took it a bit lightly after WRC Safari, maybe trying to concentrate a lot more on results and keeping it clean on the sections and that’s what let me down,” Iceman expounded.
Aggressive approach paying dividends
But Iceman- who is the reigning Group N Champion- reckons that an aggressive approach will be inevitable in his quest for a maiden KNRC title, adding: “So, this year we have nothing to lose as a team besides the championship, but to lay our hands on it, we really need to take some risks.”
The soft-spoken driver lost the KNRC title to Karan on homestretch last season after a spirited fight but is happy to assume the lead after a great run in his underpowered Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X which is no match to the Rally 2 carss (the former R5s).
Round 1 winner Jeremiah Wahome dipped from first to fifth place on the log after retiring in Voi while McRae Kimathi’s 9th place saw him cling to second spot with 44points.
Iceman heads into the May 20-21 KNRC 3 Nakuru Rally with a 7- point advantage ahead of McRae Kimathi.
With 30 points to play for in Nakuru and an additional three at stake on the Power Stage, Nakuru’s challenging gravel roads will definitely shape the KNRC points rush.
Aim is to try and win championship
“Our aim this year is to try and win the championship. But the essence for now is to gain as many points as possible in each rally. Overall, the rally in Voi was all good. It was a very hot event and the roads deteriorated on the second loop, so we ended up finishing second in KNRC and third overall behind Karan and Yasin Nasser of Uganda.”
Meanwhile, Iceman has kickstarted preparations on his EVO well in time for May’s Nakuru outing.
“Immediately after the car arrived from Voi, it was stripped down to a shell and we are having a thorough going-over and whatever damage we’ll come across, we shall repair. But during the rally in Voi we never had any major incidents, so, it’s just a general checkup to make sure everything is okay.”
KNRC Standings
DRIVERS
1 Jasmeet Chana 51
2 McRae Kimathi 44
3 =Kush Patel 34
3= Karan Patel 34
5 Jeremiah Wahome 30
CO-DRIVERS
1 Ravi Chana 51
2 Mwangi Kioni 44
3= Mudassar Chaudry 34
3= Tauseef Khan 34
5 Victor Okundi 30
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