Mombasa Rally revs off Saturday

After a successful recce on Friday, it is now time for real action as the KCB Mombasa Rally kicks off Saturday morning at 7am from Wundanyi in Voi.

Most of the drivers said they were happy with the set-up of the route yesterday, although there are a couple of stages which could prove dangerous if one loses concentration due to the rough terrain.

The technical delegate also reported no major issues with any of the cars at scrutineering yesterday, thus a total of 35 cars should be seen in today’s action.

Former national and Safari Rally champion, Ian Duncan will be flagged off first from the ramp in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO10 ahead of a list of 35 cars from all levels of the competition.

SUPER CARS ON PARADE

While the main focus remains at the top, where super rally cars and top drivers tend to pull extra attention from the fans, similar attention cannot be ignored for the competitors from the other end have their own exciting battles that go unnoticed at times.

Eric Bengi, a relatively unknown driver in the series but considered to be among the quickest Two-wheel competitors, says their battles are equally tough and exciting.

“For anyone of us to do well in our respective classes, it is as good as beating the best or winning the main event. The competition is filled with the same tension and pressures that go with the elite of the sport,’’ said Bengi, who dropped from first to third in the F2 Class after Safari Rally in a Toyota RunX.

Similar sentiments were shared by Denis Mwenda, the former National Formula Two Champion and now leading the Division Two Class in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9.

‘The excitement and pressures is immense. Doing well in a class is as good as winning the overall competition,’’ said Mwenda.

PROVISIONAL START LIST

1. Ian Duncan/ Andrew Doig (Mitsubishi Evolution10), 2. Carl Tundo /Tim Jessop (Ford Fiesta Proton), 3. Rajbir Rai /Greg Stead (Ford Fiesta), 4. Quentin Mitchell/ Steven Cook (Skoda Fabia), 5. Tapio Laukkanen /Pasi Torma (Subaru Impreza GVB13), 6. Baldev Chager /Ravi Soni KEN KEN P Mitsubishi Evolution10, 7. Jaspreet Chatthe /Gurdeep Panesar (Mitsubishi Evolution10), 8. Manvir Baryan/ Drew Sturock (Ford Fiesta), 9. Onkar Rai /Gareth Dawe (Mitsubishi Evolution10), 10. Pietro Cannobio/ TBA( Mitsubishi Evolution10),

11. Izhar Mirza /Kavit Dave (Mitsubish Evolution9), 12. Frank Tundo Gavin /Lawrence KEN KEN 1 Mitsubishi Evolution9), 13. Jasmeet Chana /Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Evolution), 14. Imran Mogul/Adnan Din SUbaru Impreza N12), 15. Farhaaz Khan/ Keith Henrie(Mitsubishi Evolution9), 16. Dennis Mwenda /Job Njiru (Mitsubishi Evolution9,) 17. Stephen Mwangi /Jonathan Kosgei (Subaru Impreza), 18. Issa Amwari /Edward Njoroge (Mitsubishi Evolution10), 19. Asad Khan Harshil /Limbani (Subaru Impreza GC8), 20. John Ng’ang’a /Anthony Njenga (Subaru Impreza N10),

21. Mahesh Halai /Ketan Halai (Subaru Impreza N12), 22. Eric Bengi /Tuta Mionki (Toyota RunX), 23. Eric Njogu /Tony Kimondo (Subaru Impreza N10), 24. Natasha Tundo/ Chantal Young (Subaru Impreza N10), 25. Dilraj Chatthe/ Rohit Bhudia (Mitsubishi Evolution 10), 26. Chandrakant Devji/ Julius Mwachuya (Subaru Impreza GC8), 27. Adil Mirza /Adnan Din (Mitsubishi Evolution), 28. Aakif Virani /Azhar Bhatti (Subaru Impreza N16), 29.Osman Abdullahi/ Evans Mwenda (Subaru Impreza N10), 30. Edward Maina /Steve Mbuthia (Subaru Impreza GC8),

31. Sammy Nyorri /Mwangi Waithaka (Toyota RunX) 32. Ramesh Vishram /Riyaz Ismail (Ford Escort MK2), 33. Leonardo Varese /Kigondu Kareithi (Toyota Corolla RSI), 34. Alex Lairang’i /Anthony Gichohi (Toyota Sprinter), 35. Ammar Haq /Victor Okundi (Subaru Impreza).