Henrie registers double win in autocross

By FeverPitch Reporter

Keith Henrie clinched a rare double as the joint round five and six of the Kenya National Autocross Championship ended at Jamhuri Park racetrack on Sunday.

Henrie was excited that his title chase had got to the next level. However, he was made to fight extra hard amidst breathtaking heat-run exchanges from former champion Ricky Aslam.

Both Henry and Aslam went through their heat runs simultaneously on the same venue that hosted this year’s KCB Safari Rally CS1 spectator stage.

But with the championship title almost gone, Henrie said it was too early for him to rest on his laurels and assume the championship has been won yet there are three more rounds to go.

"It’s too early to say that I have won the championship. I intend to treat every race with the seriousness it deserves. We blew the shock in the last heat of round five but managed to fix it for the next race," he said.

Aslam, who shared his buggy with Shalien Mughal, drove aggressively on both races and could hardly make life any easier for Henrie.

"We had issues with braking system in round five but we are happy to have beaten Henrie in the last two heats. We lost the round five win to Henrie by a mere second, which is very encouraging. In round six, we fought harder, but we were forced to retire in the last heat with mechanical problems," said Aslam.

Newcomer Pavit Kenth of Mean Cushion Industries was happy with the track set up and top-10 finishes on his debut. Kenth finished 10th in round five and eighth in the preceding round.

"We got the buggy prepared in good time, but the biggest challenge was familiarising myself with the track which was loose and so we had to tread cautiously," said Kenth.

Organisers, Kenya Motor Sports Club, merged the two races because round five was rained off last month.

After the double header, drivers looked rather exhausted at prize giving in the wake of the grueling action, which involved eight laps and an additional early morning practice lap.