Only 9 crews enter Eldoret Rally
Kenyan rally driver Karan Patel, navigated by Tauseef Khan, in the cockpit of their Ford Fiesta R5 during the opening stage of the ASAS Rally of Tanzania in Iringa on November 12, 2023. Patel, navigated by Tauseef Khan, won the rally.
What you need to know:
- Notably, rally organisers used to receive over 70 cars in the KNRC events a few years back before the big decline
- The Eldoret Rally 2024 will kick off Saturday morning with a total of six Competitive States during the course of the competition
- The total distance will be 298.41kms of which Competitive distance will be 139.92kms while the Liaison distance will be 298.41kms
Only nine cars have entered the opening round of the 2024 Kenya National Rally Championship to be staged in Eldoret on Saturday.
The number of cars for the KNRC events has declined drastically for the past few years. It is a worrying factor for the managers of the sport in Kenya.
Notably, rally organisers used to receive over 70 cars in the KNRC events a few years back before the big decline.
The next major event will be the WRC Safari Rally to be organised by the end of March.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Motor Sports Federations in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi have agreed to let their respective drivers participate in the respective away rally championships in order to encourage more interest and entries.
Foreign drivers will be allowed to use their local Competition Licenses and score championship points for their home events separately. They must get a letter from their respective ASNs.
The Eldoret Rally 2024 will kick off Saturday morning with a total of six Competitive States during the course of the competition.
The total distance will be 298.41kms of which Competitive distance will be 139.92kms while the Liaison distance will be 298.41kms. The competition will be based around Iten.
The longest Competitive Stage distance will be 35.20kms while the Shortest will be 17.14kms.
There will be a total of six Competitive Stages. The Opening stage of Kaptagat (1810km) will be done once while Burgar (17.14) will be done three times. The Saladin Section (35.20) will be done twice.
Scrutineering and the official reconnaissance of the route of the first round of the 2024 Kenya National Rally Championship will be done Friday.
Meanwhile, Krrish Vadgama and Martin Nojgaard are scheduled to make history this weekend when they become the first-ever Kenyan competitors to participate in the African Karting Championship in South Africa.
Maina Muturi, the President of the Kenya Motor Sports Federation was among the first to wish Vadgaama And Nojgaard good luck in South Africa.
“On behalf of the Kenya Motor Sports Fraternity and over 45 million Kenyans, I wish the crew all the best in South Africa. We are proud of you,” stated Muturi.
Meanwhile, former Safari Rally winner, Azar Anwar has been appointed the official FIA Homologation Officer by the World Motor Sports a governing body.
Anwar will see the development of the Rally-5-Kit not only in Kenya but across the African continent.
Anwar will work alongside Musa Locho at the Kenya Motor Sports Federation.
Eldoret Rally entry list
1.Somman Vohra/Alfir Khan (Škoda Fabia)
2.Yassin Nasser/Joseph Kamya (Ford Fiesta),
3.Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX)
4.Ian Duncan/Jaspal Matharu (Nissan Patrol P/u)
5.Minesh Rathod/Shameer Yusuf (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX)
6.Ghalib Hajee/Riyaz Ismail (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX)
7.Joey Ghose/Kashif Sheikh (Porsche 911)
8.Jose Sardinia/Assad Mughal (Mitsubishi Pajero)
9.Khalistan Omar/Salim Mohamed (Subaru Impreza)
