1930 Ford Model A wins Concours d’Elegance

John Wroe’s 1930 Ford Model A on Sunday won him a shield, a medal and cash voucher worth Sh21,000 as he emerged first place at the 49th edition of the Concour d’Elegance afro motive event that was held at the Ngong Racecourse.

The annual event, which has been in existence since 1970, had 72 car entries and 31 motorcycle entries highlighting the African continental status of the classiest event on the Kenyan motorsport calendar.

The cars, which had four or more wheels were divided from class1-class 15, and were judged based on their age, roadworthiness, engine and engine compartment, interior and boot and external finish, while the motorcycles were categorised from class16-class21 and judged based on their trim, roadworthiness, external finish and age as well.

The event, which was organised by Alfa Romeo Owners club and sponsored by commercial bank of Africa (CBA) for the eighth years in a row, was graced by automobile artisans and mechanics from South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

This year, three entries drove their cars and 13 rode their motorcycles from Uganda; three South African competitors flew from Johannesburg.

South Africa, which is popular for its vintage motorcycles, had three competitors, while Uganda had 13 motorcycle entries and five car entries.

Volkswagen had the most entries this year with 8 Volkswagen campers going up the ramp including Larry Asego's 1974 camper and Rift Valley Technical Training Institute with their 1970 Volkswagen.

The technical institute joined Karen Technical Institute for the deaf, who presented their 1950 Porsche tractor.

Rift Valley Technical Training Institute head trainer Fredrick Obiero said the event was a great means of exposure to his students and the staff at RTTI, because this was their first time to enter as competitors in the event.

“The event has definitely served as great motivation for the staff and students. We have seen different works of art on different vehicles and we now know that we can work on ours intentionally to lead in next year's competition,” said Obiero.

The Principal Secretary in the State department of Vocational and Technical Training (TVET) in the Ministry of Education, Dr Kevit Desai brought his sleek Jaguar 420 model and was there to encourage more technical institutions to be more hands-on in training mechanics and artisans using the ever evolving technology.

“I was very impressed by the Rift Valley Technical and Training institute who came to compete after working on their car for just 7months. We will now use their 1970 Volkswagen to inspire others from other technical institutions, “said Desai.

Kenya’s Harry Thuku made a statement as he had three different cars in the entries of classes one and two. In class one, he showcased his 1985 Range Rover and his 1984 Toyota Land cruiser, while his 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser headlined the second class.

The oldest machine present at the car classic event was the 1916 BSA Motorcycle owned by Bevan Beckam, who went up against the 1925 DKW entered by Satpal Jabbal, who has been a multiple overall winner of the event.