Catch Tapio if you can: All eyes on Laukannen, Chatthe as the six round heads to Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet

Tapio Laukkanen navigated Pasi Torma driving Subaru Impreza during the Machakos Rally, yesterday.

‘Flying Finn’ Tapio Laukannen is the man to beat this weekend at KCB Eldoret Rally as the cream of the country’s best resume the battle for Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) honors .

The former Finland and British champion has set high standards in his Subaru R4 that local bigwigs are struggling to match even with ultra modern top-of-the-range machines.

Four points separate him and Jaspreet Chatthe who has managed to post some impressive stage time over the past few seasons.

Third placed Ian Duncan will also be hoping that either Chatthe or Laukannen stumble.

Duncan who has won the KNRC six times has had his campaign distracted by the Did Not Finish (DNF) he suffered in Kisumu as a result of being taken ill incidentally while leading the pack.

Baldev Chager and Carl Tundo who are not doing well in the championship race will not be pushovers.

Chager who was the victor in Kisumu has come to grips with his new car, but believes Laukannen will be hard to catch. Chager has suffered two DNF and as such lost the lead he had clung onto after the Safari Rally.

Chager said: “Every time anyone tries to catch up with him, he pulls away. I don’t really know where his limits are or how much faster he can go from what he is doing. The good thing is he has made us wake up. I think generally everybody has started driving faster just to get closer to Tapio (Laukannen) more than anything else,” said Chager.

The Flying Finn who has wowed crowds in his driving lines, has won three of five events held so far; season opener Kajiado, Wundanyi and the last round in Nanyuki, ending the domination of Mitsubishi EVO machines that had ruled the KNRC unchallenged in the last three seasons.

“We have to keep on pushing as any mistake will see Chatthe cling to the title,” Laukannen said.

Chager who is also known as the ‘Flying Singh’ believes he has come to grips with the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution10 R4 car.

The rally will be flagged off outside KCB Eldoret branch on Uganda Road at 7am today after which cars will tackle stages near Eldoret as they head towards Iten.