Tundo, Menengai teams chase national honours
Onkar Rai’s Skoda takes a heavy landing after a big jump on March 16, 2017. Rai, co-driven by Gareth Dave, is gearing up for next month’s Kenya Motor Sports Club Rally to be held around Kajiado. PHOTO | ANWAR SIDI |
What you need to know:
- Reigning national champion Tapio Laukkanen of Finland failed to finish the Guru Nanak Rally after he withdrew with a stomach upset.
- The Finn had won two rounds of the 2017 championship before his premature retirement from the latest round of the series at the wheels of his Subaru Impreza.
- The battle for the overall championship remains wide open with a maximum of 50 points available from the last two rounds of the current series.
Top Fry-sponsored driver Carl Tundo is upbeat ahead of the next round of the Kenya National Rally Championship to be organized by Nairobi’s Kenya Motor Sports Club on November 12.
Tundo, who will drive a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO10, was in Bulgaria for the recent Balkan Rally before returning home to record his first rally victory of the season in the Guru Nanak Rally.
He now needs to win the KMSC rally to keep alive his chances of winning the national title for the fourth time in his rallying career.
Tundo will be joined by his other team-mates sponsored by the Menengai Oil banner, including Kabras-sponsored Baldev Chager and Onkar Rai who flies the parent Menengai Oil banner.
Ian Duncan, who finished fourth in the Guru Nanak Rally, maintains the lead in the championship by two points over the Top Fry-sponsored Tundo. Duncan is on 87 points followed by Tundo (85), Chager (79), Karan Patel (69), Manvir Baryan (68) and Tapio Laukkanen (63).
The KMSC rally will start in Kajiado at 8am and finish at the Lisa Farm where the first car will be expected at 2pm.
The total distance will be 158 kilometres, of which 129 will be competitive and divided into five sections.
The longest stage will be 44.90 kilometres while the shortest will be 16 kilometres.
Two stages (Kenjoro to Kenjoro 16 kilometres and Lisa Farm to Lisa Farm 45kms) will be done twice while Andy Corner/Iposat of 37 kilometres will be tackled once.
Reigning national champion Tapio Laukkanen of Finland failed to finish the Guru Nanak Rally after he withdrew with a stomach upset.
The Finn had won two rounds of the 2017 championship before his premature retirement from the latest round of the series at the wheels of his Subaru Impreza.
The battle for the overall championship remains wide open with a maximum of 50 points available from the last two rounds of the current series.
STANDINGS
KNRC Drivers: 1. Ian Duncan 87, 2. Carl Tundo 85, 3. Baldev Chager 79, 4. Karan Patel 69, 5. Manvir Baryan 68, 6. Tapio Laukkanen 63, 7. Jaspreet Chatthe 54, 8. Onkar Rai 45, 9. Farhaaz Khan 28, 10. Eric Bengi 16, 10= Jasmeet Chana 16, 12. Tejveer Rai 12.
KNRC Navigators: 1. Amaar Slatch 99, 2. Tim Jessop 88, 3. Ravi Soni 85, 4. James Mwangi 79, 5. Gavin Laurence 63, 6. Gareth Dawe 50, 7. Gurdeep Panesar 36, 8. Keith Henrie 35, 9. Ravi Chana 22, 10. Zahir Shah 15.
