Rai top seed in Eldoret Rally

Rajbir Rai splashes through a water splash in his Ford Fiesta during the KCB Kisumu Rally on June 3, 2016 | PHOTO | ANWAR SIDI

What you need to know:

  • Finland’s Tapio Laukkanen is seeded number two in his Subaru Impreza.
  • The main Spectator Stage and Service Park will be at Chemweno Farm in Moiben and while the Finish Ramp will at Iten in Elgeyo Marakwet county.

Rajbir Rai will be first off the ramp in this weekend’s KCB Eldoret Rally.

The former Kisumu, Nakuru and Uganda rallies champion (right) will head a list of 36 cars in his Ford Fiesta from the KCB branch in Eldoret Town at 7am.

“This is my second time to start off first after last year’s Eldoret Rally. I just to have concentrate and stay focused,” said Rajbir, son of Sarbi Rai, a former national champion.

A majority of the cars at the front are often seen as “sweepers”, considering the number of people, animals and cars that they could encounter at high speed.

Finland’s Tapio Laukkanen is seeded number two in his Subaru Impreza. He will be looking to extend a slender four-point lead at the top of the table as he keeps his eyes firmly on the main title.

His nearest rival, Jassi Chatthe, the reigning Safari, national and African champion, is seeded number three in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10.

The rally starts on Friday with the official reconnaissance of the route that will coincide with the scrutineering of the cars at Sikh Union Eldoret. The total distance will be 258 km of which 127 kms will be competitive distance.

divided eight stages.

The main Spectator Stage and Service Park will be at Chemweno Farm in Moiben and while the Finish Ramp will at Iten in Elgeyo Marakwet county.

START LIST: TOP 20

1. Rajbir Rai/Stead Greg (Ford Fiesta), 2. Tapio Laukkanen/P. Torma (Sub Impreza), 3. Jaspreet Chatthe/Gurdeep Panesar (Mitsubishi Evolution 10)

4. Baldev Chager/Ravi Soni (Mitsubishi EvolutionX) 5. Ian Duncan/Slatch Amaar ( Mitsubishi Evolution 10) 6. Carl Tundo/Tim Jessop (Ford Fiesta Proto) 7. Onkar Rai/Garth Dawe (Mitsubishi Evo10) 8. Manvir Baryan/Drew Sturock (Ford Fiesta) 9. Izhar Mirza/Kavit Dave (Mitsubishi EvolutionX)

10.Tejveer Rai/Zahir Shah (Mitsubishi Evolution X) 11. Amaanraj Rai/Tauseef Khan (Mitsubishi Evolution 10) 12. Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi EvolutionX) 13. Farhaaz Khan/Keith Henrie (Mitsubishi Evolution 9) 14. Dennis Mwenda/Job Njiru (Mitsubishi Evolution 9)
15. Raaji Bharij/Sehmi Ranjeet (Ford Escort Mk1) 16. Mahesh Halai/Ketan Halai (Subaru Impreza) 17. Canobbio Piero/Frigo Silvia (Mitsubishi Evolution 10) 18. Mubiru Duncan/Ssemukula George (Mitsubishi Evolution 10) 19. John Ng’ang’a/Anthony Njenga (Subaru Impreza N10) 20. Walubi Kapher/Kalema Susan (Mitsubishi Evolution 10) 21. Taiti Wachira/Kimaru Boit (Mitsubishi Evolution 6) 22. Stephen Mwangi/Jonathan Kosgei (Subaru Impreza N) 23. Asad Khan/Harshil Limbani (Subaru Impreza GC8) 24. Jansher Sandhu/Feisal Khan (Mitsubishi Evolution 9) 25. Eric Bengi/Tuta Mionki (Toyota RunX) 26. Natasha Tundo/Chantal Young (Subaru Impreza N10) 27. Sammy Nyorri/Kioni Mwangi (Toyota RunX) 28. Osman Abdullahi/George Mwangi (Subaru) 29. Alex Lairang’i/Anthony Gichohi (Toyota Sprinter) 30. Chandrakant Devji/Julius Mwachuya (Subaru Impreza GC8) 31. Leonardo Varese/Kigondu Kareithi (Toyota Corolla RSI) 32. Edward Maina/Steve Mbuthia (Subaru) 33. Ramesh Vishram/Riyaz Ismail (Ford Escort MK2) 34. Umar Khalid/Salim Mohamed (Subaru Impreza GC8) 35. Sam Karangatha/Ndukui Edward (Subaru Leone) 36. Lodhia Miten/Korir Kimeli (Subaru Impreza N10)