TIME FOR RALLY OLDIES TO SHINE: Rally greats to test Safari Classic Porsche Carrera 911 in 36th Guru Nanak Rally

Two-time former Classic Cup champion Aslam Khan will be among the drivers test-driving their machines in Saturday’s 36th Guru Nanak Rally ahead of the Kenya Airways East African Safari Classic Rally. Safari Classic revs-off in Mombasa on November 19.

Khan, who is a two-time Kenya Motor Sport personality of the year, has been preparing his Porsche Carrera 911 at the ALS workshop in Nairobi’s Wilson Airport and he has high hopes the KCB Guru Nanak Rally, which folds the curtains on the 2015 Kenya National Rally Championship in Konza, Kapiti and Lisa Farm areas on Saturday, will serve as a suitable platform to access the car’s performance.

Khan, a former Kenya Air Force pilot and now the chairman of aviation service providers-ALS, has entered both rallies and will be navigated by his younger brother, Arshad Khan.
With a combined cockpit age of about 110 year, they say “age is nothing, but a number.

“We are looking forward to the Guru Nanak Rally because it will be a dress rehearsal for our participation in Safari Classic. Mechanics have been working round the clock to ensure the car remains in top condition,” said Arshad. Three-time Rally Raid car class champion Nish Lakhani and his partner Teeku Patel are giving Guru Nanak a wide berth as they are on their last phase of preparation ahead of the Classic. Their Datsun classic is being prepared at Lakhani’s backyard workshop in Karen.

“The car is stripped at the moment and we are waiting on some parts from Australia. So hopefully in one week, we should have the parts in and put the car back together and then go out for a test,” said Patel.

In a related development, Tuthill Porsche recently enjoyed a successful test ahead of the 2015 East African Safari Classic Rally. Over the slate-strewn stages of a mid-Wales rally school, Richard Tuthill clocked up 200 kilometres in a classic Porsche 911 rally car built specifically for this year’s East African Safari Classic Rally.

Run once every two years, the East African Safari Classic Rally is the modern-day running of the original Safari Rally.