Patel v Chana: Race for KNRC title goes to the wire
Karan Patel navigated by Tauseef Khan tackle one of the stages in their Ford Fiesta during the RSC Machakos Rally on November 5, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Patel was at the wheels of his Ford Fiesta with Tauseef Khan as his co-driver.
- His closest rivals in the championship, Jasmeet Chana and Ravi Chana, finished third driving their Mitsubishi Lancer.
The race for the 2022 KBL-Kenya National Rally Championship title will be decided on the final round of the season.
This is after Karan Patel scored yet another victory in the KNRC after winning the RSC Machakos Rally on Saturday.
Patel was at the wheels of his Ford Fiesta with Tauseef Khan as his co-driver.
His closest rivals in the championship, Jasmeet Chana and Ravi Chana, finished third driving their Mitsubishi Lancer.
Second place was taken by Hamza Anwar and Riyaz Ismail driving a Mitsubishi Lancer.
Chana maintains his lead in the Overall Standings of the KBL-KNRC table with 208 points followed by Patel with 197 points.
“We are looking forward to the Guru Nanak Rally where the title race will be settled. Being the first car on the road didn’t help us much today as we had to stop several times because of wild animals crossing the roads,” Jasmeet told Nation Sport.
“The second loop was tougher as we encountered lots of ruts and roughness on the stages. However, we are happy to have finished the rally.”
The battle for the Overall Championship crown moves to the last round of the series with both Patel and Chana still fighting for the top honours.
Chana needs to finish among the top four in the Guru Nanak Rally to be crowned champion.
If Chana wins his maiden title, it will be the second time this season for Patel to come so close to winning a major title before losing it at the final hurdle.
Patel lost the 2022 African Rally Championship title to Leroy Gomes of Zambia in a similar fashion.
Leo Varese clinched the 2022 National Formula Two Championship belt by finishing first in the F2 class.
With Kigo Kariethi as his navigator, the crew has now won the National F2 title for the sixth time in their rallying career.
“We would like to wait and see where we finish in the overall championship following the 75% rule where one is compelled to do the necessary events. We are lying third at the moment,” Kareithi told Nation Sport.
For the first time this season, Maxine Wahome, the sole female driver in the series, retired from the RSC Rally after her Subaru Impreza encountered electrical failure.
Exhaust issues also forced Daren Miranda’s Subaru Impreza out of the penultimate round of the series.
The last event of the 2022 KBL-sponsored Kenya National Rally Championship will be organised by the Sikh Union Club of Nairobi on November 26-27.
The organisers are already looking at the stages which are expected to be around the Voi area.
Provisional Results:
1. Karan Patel/Tauseef Khan (Ford Fiesta R5)102min:35.35sec
2. Hamza Anwar/Riyaz Ismail (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10) 105:54.64
3. Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Evolution10)109:49.59
4. Eric Bengi/Absolom Aswani (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10)118:21.77
5. Nikhil Sachania/Deep Patel (Mitsubishi Evolution10)120:01.29
6. Rajveer Thatthi/Wayne Fernandez (Subaru Impreza)121:08.23
7. Kush Patel/Mudasar Chaudry (Subaru Impreza) 122: 50.27
8. Steve Mwangi/Dennis Mwenda (Subaru Impreza) 125:43.11
9. Shakeel Khan/Assad Mughal (Ford Escort) 127:11.02
10. Leo Varese/Kigondu Kareithi (Toyota Auris) 134:46.21
11. Edward Maina/Anthony Gichohi (Subaru Impreza)137:20.59
