Good to see Duncan, Mitchell back after frustrating year

Last year I wrote about the plight of rally drivers Ian Duncan and Quentin Mitchell, who were without a sponsor and could not drive full time in the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC).

I found it astounding that two of the country’s top drivers could not obtain sponsorship whilst other teams and drivers were able to secure funding in a sport that has grown rapidly in popularity and organisation in recent years.

Whilst Duncan was able to pick and choose what events he wanted to race due to him being able to fund himself, Mitchell didn’t have that luxury, having to sit out most of 2014 and the first event of 2015 despite investing in a Skoda S2000 rally car in which he finished fourth in the Safari Rally on its debut, just a few hours after getting it cleared from customs.

Mitchell has invested his life in the sport and his sacrifices have paid dividends as he has received sponsorship from Shell, Chandaria Industries and DMAK tyres for the rest of the Kenya National Rally Championship.

This will enable him to finally push himself to his full potential knowing that he doesn’t have to save the car during events due to his limited budget.

It will be interesting to see how he adjusts his driving style, along with how the Skoda and other R5 and S2000 cars handle the forecasted wet routes.

As for Duncan, Liquid Telecom has come on board as his main sponsor, which has enabled him to upgrade from the trusty Nissan pick-up to a Mitsubishi Evolution X.

This should really throw the cats among the pigeons, as the 1994 Safari Rally WRC winner was already competitive in the ageing Evo IX.

Duncan will now be on a level par with the likes of defending champion Baldev Chager, which will make next week’s event really interesting.

The transport sections could also be a factor as we saw that some of the cars didn’t like the long distances last year, Alistair Cavanagh’s Proton being one of the casualties.

However, remember that the distances aren’t as great as some of the events in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and these are the sacrifices that have to be made if we want closed routes and the event to spread to different parts of the country.

It is expected the usual timing system will be used as the new Tag Heuer version, which is the same as the one used in the WRC won’t be ready, although you can expect to see it ready for the rest of the KNRC, which will revolutionise the way the results are calibrated and events are run.

Congratulations to the Kenya Motorsports Federation and Kenya Commercial Bank for partnering to purchase this crucial piece of equipment.

FOOTBALL GETS BACK ON TRACK

So after months of frankly unacceptable behaviour from officials running the sport, Fifa this week finally brokered an agreement between the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and Kenyan Premier League Limited (KPL).

This resulted in the resumption of the top-flight league until the end of the season in the original 16-team structure. At the end of the season the FKF and KPL will discuss an expansion to an 18-team league.

FKF and KPL will continue to run their leagues, with the governing body making a breakthrough when they signed a Sh204 million, Sh58 million a year, three-year contract with Azam TV.

However, the two bodies will have to draft a Memorandum of Understanding in June, which will be overseen by Fifa, and you can bet there were a lot of discussions behind the scenes to work out a unified league.

It is unprecedented that the country has two parallel leagues. The KPL is undeniably the superior league, although FKF did raise concerns about Shabana and Posta Rangers playing in the KPL. This can’t happen as the KPL have redrafted Nakuru All Stars and City Stars back into their league.

On the field the action resumed last weekend following the reversal of the FKF court injunction. Defending champions Gor Mahia are sitting on top with a maximum 9 points from their three matches, while Bandari and AFC Leopards are level on points with 7, and Western Stima, Sony Sugar and Sofapaka round off the top six.

Gor, Leopards, Sony and Sofapaka are the only unbeaten teams in the league so far. This weekend Nakuru All Stars host Western Stima, Thika United are at home against Muhoroni Youth and Ulinzi play AFC Leopards in Nakuru – undoubtedly the biggest game of the weekend in the KPL.

On the international front, Harambee Stars play the Seychelles in a Fifa international friendly today with a squad of mainly under 23 players. Head coach Bobby Williamson is preparing for the forthcoming Olympic qualifiers with their first match against Botswana in May.

Last week, four Kenyan Fifa women referees officiated an All Africa Games women’s qualifying match between hosts Zambia and Tanzania. Damaris Kimani was the centre referee, Caroline Kiles and Mary Njoroge the first and second assistant referees, while Tabitha Njoroge was the reserve referee. Last year they officiated in Tunisia in the Africa Cup of Nations for women.

BATUK HELPS RUGBY IN NANYUKI

I was in Nanyuki last week and went to watch a rugby match between Nanyuki Jackals and the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) at the unusually dry Nanyuki Sports Club.

The normally green area surrounding Mount Kenya has been suffering from the very dry spells of the last few months, with the golf course a horrible parched brown in colour.

The rugby pitch next door is in a similar condition and there must have been a few aching joints afterwards from the bone hard surface.

BATUK are doing a great service to Laikipia by spreading the gospel of rugby. There is a strong Fijian presence along with the British, and apart from playing the local team ‘The Jackals’, they provide rugby clinics and donate equipment to school children and aspiring players.

As for the Jackals, they’re trying to progress to the main Nationwide League and we wish them the best of luck as they continue to receive support on and off the pitch from BATUK.

The Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) needs to take note of this great initiative, although last year the Kenya national 15s team did pitch camp at the Nanyuki Sports Club at the invitation of club chairman Francis Mathenge before their participation in the Vodacom Cup.

There are plenty more grassroots initiatives happening around the country and they need to recognised by the KRU and be given more encouragement.