Mark Glen wins Rhino Charge title

Driver Mark Glen (Team 48) was over the weekend crowned the overall winner of the 34th edition of the Rhino Charge after a stunning drive through the brutal course of Nkoteyia Community Conservancy in Samburu County.

The award ceremony took place Sunday morning and was graced by President William Ruto and UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt.

Glen, who is a regular competitor of the Rhino Charge, covered a distance of 26.7 kilometres to emerge victorious for a sixth time.

"This the sixth time we've won. The previous driver who had won the most was William Carr-Hartley, he'd done six . Now, we've managed to equal him and hope to be back here next year and try and do the seventh one," a jubilant Glen said.

Despite the brutal course that Nkoteyia Community Conservancy provided for the drivers, Team 48 managed to finish the 10-hour competition close to an hour before the deadline.

"Absolutely amazing course. The hills were pretty radical out there. We finished early, 4:15pm. We thought we could have done better, but transpires we did alright," added Glen.

Team 48 managed to complete the 13 guard posts on time and in the shortest route possible to dethrone team Bundu Fundi, who were aiming to win the overall prize for the third time running.

Bundu Fundi(Car No. 38), led by Sean Avery, were the first runners up, having completed the 13 guard posts in 29.86 kilometres. Graham McKittrick marshalled his team, Car No.5, to a third place finish in 32.32 kilometres.

In the unmodified category, driver John Bowden led his team, Gumtree 4 x 4(Car No. 9), to a three-peat as they completed 12 guard posts in 32.1kilometres. Bowden was over the moon as he expressed his delight on winning for a third time running.

"I'm absolutely elated. It is so tough doing this event in an unmodified car, and for our team to have done it three times in a row, winning our class and come seventh overall, I just couldn't be happier."

Driver Ajitesh Kapoor of Mbuzi Bandits( Car No. 60) was the winner of the modified category, having covered 12 guard posts in 27.42 kilometres. Driver Peter Francombe of Roving Rovers (Car No. 40) came in second place as Jonathan Somen of King 21(Car No.21) came third.

The Rhino Charge is an annual off-road 4×4 competition in which entrants are required to visit 13 checkpoints scattered over approximately 100 km² of rough terrain within a 10-hour period with the sole purpose of raising funds to conserve the environment.

President Ruto assured the organisers of the event the government's support for their efforts towards environmental conservation.

"Your partnership in fencing some of our very important assets around our water towers is something for which we are eternally grateful. We are now more determined than ever to ensure we live in an environmentally friendly world. I promise you our collaboration and commitment to environmental issues."

A total of Sh173,071,389.41 was collected in this year's event, which is the second highest amount ever with Adil Khawaja (team AK44), Safaricom Chairman, the highest contributor.

Khawaja contributed Sh60,366,403 with Peter Kinyua (Car No.23), the second highest contributor with Sh10,373,085 and Tim Carstens (Aussie Rules Car No.63) coming in third with a contribution of Sh8,845,492.