Chana brothers win Eldoret Rally
Jasmeet Chana (right), who was navigated by Ravi Chana, in a Mitsubishi Evolution, during celebrations at Iten ground in Elgeyo-Marakwet County after they won the Kenya National Rally Championship-Eldoret on August 05, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Jasmeet, who was navigated by his brother Ravi Chana, were declared outright winners of the event driving a Rubis Energy-sponsored Mitsubishi Lancer
- The Chana brothers were followed in second place by Ian Duncan, one of the most outstanding rally drivers in the country
- Jeremiah Wahome and Victor Okundi were placed third overall driving a Ford Fiesta
Jasmeet Chana recorded his second career win of the Kenya National Rally Championship by registering victory in the Eldoret Rally on Saturday.
Jasmeet, who was navigated by his brother Ravi Chana, were declared outright winners of the event driving a Rubis Energy-sponsored Mitsubishi Lancer.
“We are really happy to have won our second ever rally in our career. We have extended our lead in the overall series since Karan Patel failed to participate. We thank our sponsors Rubis Energy for the support,” Chana told Nation Sport.
The Chana brothers were followed in second place by Ian Duncan, one of the most outstanding rally drivers in the country. Their first ever career victory was achieved in the Nakuru Rally.
Duncan was driving a Datsun 280Z with Jaspal Matharu as his navigator.
Duncan is one of Kenya's most successful rally drivers. He has won the Kenyan Rally Champion crown six times. He achieved outright victory in a World Rally Championship round when he won the 42nd Safari Rally in 1994.
Jeremiah Wahome and Victor Okundi were placed third overall driving a Ford Fiesta.
Hamza Anwar was forced to retire from the rally despite leading the competition for most of the way.
His Mitsubishi Lancer suffered from transmission failure in the fifth section of the rally.
Anwar was recently in the Rally Estonia, under the Junior WRC category, securing a well-deserved fifth-place finish.
His remarkable achievement has not only brought pride to Kenya but also uplifted the spirit of Africa as a whole.
Eldoret Rally once again proved that the low number of entry lists has become a common issue in the whole of the Kenya National Rally Championship series for the last couple of years.
Only eleven cars entered the fifth round of the 2023 KNRC series. Out of the 11, only nine finished the rally.
Reigning Kenya National Rally Champion, Karan Patel failed to take part in the Western Kenya Motor Club event.
His Mitsubishi Lancer rally car was said to have suffered mechanical problems forcing him and his team not to travel to Eldoret.
This is the first time Patel has missed a national event for over three seasons.
Mombasa Motor Club will host the next round of the 2023 Kenya National Rally Championship between September 9-10.
It will be followed by Kenya Motor Sports Club (Nairobi) on October 7-8, Simba Union Club (Nairobi) on November 4-5 and Kenya Racing Track (Nairobi) on December 2-3.
Provisional results
1. Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Evolution 10) 01hr:19mins:42.9secs.
2. Ian Duncan/Jaspal Matharu (Nissan 280 Z) 01:23:12.8
3. Jeremiah Wahome/Victor Okundi (FordFiesta) 01:23:55.8
4. McRae Kimathi/Mwangi Kioni (Ford Fiesta) 01:26:01.2
5. Rajveer Thethy/Wayne Fernandes(Subaru Impreza)01:29:11.1
6. Kush Patel/Mudasar Chaudry (Subaru Impreza) 01:30:33.0
7. Jose Sardinha/Shameer Yusuf (Pajero Mitsubishi) 01:36:30.7
8. Navdeep Sandhu/Mohamed Khurram (Subaru Leone) 01:45:58.0
9. Sam Karangatha/Edward Ndukui (Datsun 180B) 01:45:58.0
