Baryan crashes, Rai triumphs in dramatic KCB Meru Rally
Onkar Rai tackles Competitive Section 10 at Mungania during the KCB Meru Rally on November 9, 2019 on the way to winning the round of the Kenya National Rally Championship. PHOTO | ANWAR SIDI |
What you need to know:
- Driver, navigator flown to city hospital for observation after after high speed crash early in race
- It was Volkswagen Polo’s first win since making it’s rally debut three events ago in the KCB Kenya National Rally Championship.
Onkar Rai, navigated by Gavin Laurance, won a dramatic KCB Meru Rally driving a VW Polo on Saturday as Manvir Baryan and Drew Stock suffered a horrific crash in their Skoda.
It was Volkswagen Polo’s first win since making it’s rally debut three events ago in the KCB Kenya National Rally Championship.
The first time a Volkswagen won a round of the Kenya National Rally Championship was in 1994 when Sammy Aslam won the Kenya Motor Sports Club event in a VW Golf GTi.
However, the serious accident involving the Skoda Fabia of Baryan marred the weekend.
Baryan, the three times African Champion, summersaulted his Skoda Fabia several times in Stage Four of the competition before coming to an abrupt stop.
WRECK
The Skoda was extensively damaged.
Although his navigator, Sturrock was reported to be OK, Baryan had to be ferried by an ambulance to the Service Park where the doctors on standby decided that he be flown by helicopter to a Nairobi hospital for further observation.
Baryan complained of pelvic and chest pains.
The rally had to be stopped for more than an hour while the decision to take him to Nairobi was being made by the rally officials.
After the sudden halt at the Service Park, the survivors had to drive casually through Stage Four before restarting actual competition in the remaining three stages.
Baldev Chager maintains his lead of the overall standings of the 2019 KCB KNRC table despite finishing in the third place, one place behind Carl Tundo.
Chager and Tundo were driving a similar Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10.
James Kirimi and Michael Gitubu scored their best ever result with fourth overall in a Subaru Impreza. Similar achievement was recorded by McRae Kimathi/Evans Mwanda also in a Subaru with fifth overall place out of the 12 finishers.
Other retirements included Eric Bengi in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10. He stopped with rear diff problem.
Karan Patel’s Evo10 broke drive shaft after getting stuck in mud in the Meru Showground stage while Paras Pandya’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10 retired with clutch failure.
