Motorsport: Pandya and Cannobio lead Coast onslaught in KCB Nakuru rally

Mombasa based driver Paras Pandya in action during the Guru Nanak Rally. He went to finish 9th overall. [Standard Sports]

Mombasa and Kilifi based Paras Pandya and Peiro Cannobio will lead Coast region drivers in the season opening KCB Nakuru rally set for this weekend.

The rally will be in Soysambu and Elementaita.

Pandya of Synergy Gases Racing Team will be navigated by Falgun Bhojak from Nairobi in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10 while Cannobio will also compete in an Evolution 10 hoping to finish amongst the top 10 drivers.

“It has been long since we sat behind a rally car. So getting back behind the wheels at speed is quite a great feeling coming after the Covid-19 period. We look forward to the event and having lots of fun. Bhojak has always been on the ball. He is such a great member of the team and together, we shall have a great outing in Nakuru,” said Pandya.

The Pandya racing team has been synonymous with Mombasa rallying and Corner Garage, where their cars are being fine-tuned.

Cannobio is also one of the fastest Coast drivers who has been featuring in both Mombasa Motor Club and national events.

However, the Coast team will miss the services of Mombasa-based KNRC Division One siblings Izhar and Adil Mirza.

The Coast Pekee Rally team has skipped the season opener due to work commitments.

“We cannot travel to Nakuru because of a prior commitment. We, however, hope to participate in other rounds of the series,” said Izhar, who is the Coast Pekee lead driver.

At the same time, defending champion Baldev Chager is ready for action in his Kabras Sugar Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10.

After a comprehensive test drive with teammates Onkar and Tejveer Rai, who also tested their identical VW Polo R5 cars, Chager predicted yet another eventful 2021 season. 

"The Kabras cars have been ready for a while now and we were overly excited with a test session last week. So we are just eager to get behind the wheel and see how rusty we may have become over the Covid-19 period. I am sure after a few kilometers, we should be ready to go," Chager said.

The current Safari and KNRC champion, who participated in the weekend's KCB Autocross 2 at the WRC Safari Rally racetrack at Kasarani, said he will stick to the Evolution 10 R4 car for the season.