Rally: Competition to start at KICC with drivers heading to Sopa Lodge in Naivasha

Top Fry Nakuru rally Onkar Rai in action during the Topfry Nakuru safary rally in Nakuru on December 12,2017.Photo:Kipsang Joseph/Standard

 

Irish couple joins Safari Rally fray in Ford Escort

The Shinnors bring entries to nine ahead of Friday deadline.

Competition to start at KICC with drivers heading to Sopa Lodge in Naivasha.

Irish couple Matthew and Catherine Shinnors are the first European crew to confirm their participation in the 2018 Africa Rally Championship Safari Rally between March 16 and 18 in Naivasha.

National rally championship leader Onkar Rai leads the entry list that includes Africa champion Manvir Baryan.

The entry of the Shinnors, who will hire a Ford Escort MK2 locally for the Classic category of the Safari, adds spice to the rally.

Shinnors’ previous experience includes one-off outing in the World Rally Championship (WRC) New Zealand Rally in 2006 where he finished 23rd in his class and 35th overall in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI.

Matthew Shinnors started competing in a 2-litre Fiat twin-cam-powered Ford Escort MK in autocross events in 1995 at home, then won his class in the Munster AutoX Championship in 1999, before turning to forest rallying.

He was Best Rookie awardee in the 2003 Irish National Forestry Championship and was also nominated for the Billy Coleman Award (Irish Young Rally Driver of Year) in 2003 2005.

Matthew and Catherine finished in the top three class in the Irish National Forestry Championship in 2010 driving the Escort.

The Shinnors’ entry brings to nine the confirmed drivers, but organisers expect more entries before the Friday deadline. The rally will start outside the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi at 11 am on March 16, and drivers will head to Sopa Lodge in Naivasha, 94km from Nairobi, for service. Sopa Lodge will also serve as the rally headquarters.

The drivers will then battle it out in 12km first competitive stage in Aberdare 1, but the total distance covered in day one will be 156km, including liaison sections.

The deputy clerk–of-course, George Mwangi, has been on the route supervising road gravelling, especially rough sections, to conform to World Rally Championship standards.

On Day two on March 17, cars will head to Soysambu Ranch for the first stage of the day, followed by other stages at Sleeping Warrior and Aberdare II. These stages will be repeated twice for a total competitive distance of 143km plus other 162km road sections.