Showdown in Nyeri

“Standards have been set high. We shall run a two day spectator stage at Kabiru-ini Showground on Saturday and Sunday and this gives fans, especially locals, an opportunity of viewing rally cars in full action,” said Mwaura.

The event, co- sponsored by chopper providers,  ALS, iWay Africa, ICEA Lion Group and DT Dobie, makes up the second round of KNRC this season. One of the biggest attractions in Nyeri will no doubt be the state-of-the-art rally cars including veteran Frank Tundo’s Mitsubishi EVO9 , formerly owned by Steve Perez. The car has only done one rally in Argentina. Issa Amwari will also be unveiling a similar make of car.

Baldev Chager is working round the clock to ensure that the new Mitsubishi EvoX he acquired from the United Kingdom is in good shape ahead of the weekend’s action. Anwar Pandya is also expected to launch his new Subaru machine from Pro-Drive and so is Jasmeet Chana who is now on his second outing on his EVO9 contraption.

“The KNRC is very competitive at the moment. Ian, Alastair and Carl are all solid boys. They have driven Mitsubishi for a couple of years and for us its our first time out.

“So it will be very interesting to see how we will perform in cars of similar make. Though theirs are all EVO9 models and we have opted for an EVOX. We have done one rally and are leading the KNRC— we still have  a very long way to go,” said Chager. Among the big names to look out for in Nyeri include reigning Ugandan Champion Jas Mangat, who is teaming-up with Imran Khan from Kenya.

Two times champion Alastair Cavenagh returns to the series after skipping the season-opening Kajiado Rally and hopes to renew his rivalry with KNRC Champion Carl Tundo, legendary Ian Duncan, Azar Anwar and Chager.

ready for challenge

Youngsters Alex Horsey, second off the podium, his brother Peter, Onkar Rai, Manvir Baryan and Jassi Chatthe have all signed-up and hope to outpace the big guns in the battle for KNRC. Manvir will be navigated by Drew Sturrock from Britain.

Jasmeet, the immediate former S Class and two-time Two Wheel Drive Champion went testing in Magadi with legendary Finish driver Tapio Laukannen. “The shakedown went very well.  The car is okay. We spent almost 6 hours in the car yesterday and it just gets better after Tapio has been around with me,” said Jasmeet.

Meanwhile, Leonardo Varese and his partner Kigo Kareithi have withdrawn from the event citing delay in the arrival of their new Toyota RSI from South Africa.

Leo admitted that he is tired of living in the shadows of some of his Formula Two adversaries. He added that he needed some fresh impetus into his racing career and promised to make a strong comeback in Voi Rally. The 2WD Class has attracted the likes of Dennis Mwenda and Gurmit Thethy.

The rivalry pitting women’s team is also anticipated to add considerable zest to the weekend’s set up.

Warembo Bila Makap team of Stella Macharia and Helen Shiri have announced their comeback after skipping Kajiado tour.

Rally Queens-Samira Khan and Chantal Young anticipate better reliability from their Ford Escort.