Autocross: Omar and Patel bask in glory of good show

Autocross round 10 winner Naushad Kara (left) of Mombasa congratulates champion Sahib Omar at the Mombasa Cement Factory grounds. [Courtesy]

Sahib Omar and Kunal Patel lived up to their billing when they were crowned the 2019 champions as curtains came down on the KCB Kenya National Autocross Championship at Mombasa Cement factory racetrack in Kilifi County.

Despite giving the last heat a wide berth this week, Omar dutifully retained the 4WD Turbo title after a nerve wracking battle with eventual class winner and Coast Rally Champion Nashad Kara.

In the meantime, third overall in the season-ending extravaganza was all Omar needed to savour back to back titles in a season where he swept the ground with all his opponents.

“The track was really wet in the first two heats but I was glad conditions improved as the race gathered momentum.

“In the third heat we suffered a miss and deemed it fit not to take risks; so we skipped the last heat.

“All in all, I’m overly excited to retain the title.

“Next year I will make a stab at a few KNRCs as well as achieving a hat trick of Championship wins,”  he said.

Nanyuki’s Kunal Patel celebrated his maiden Championship in Two Wheel Drive Turbo Class after winning the last round.

Patel had his campaign effectively sewn up when his closest challenger Shalien Mughal prematurely called it quits after getting stuck in the practice heat.