Jasmeet and Ravi’s spirit in KNRC series is worth emulating

Newly crowned Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) series winners Jasmeet and Ravi Chana serve as the perfect example of hard work, tenacity, consistency and drive to succeed irrespective of hurdles in rallying in yet another tough series facing sponsorship challenges.

The brothers were crowned champions in last Sunday’s Kenya Motor Sports Club (KMSC) Rally-organised event in Kajiado, with two more rounds before end of the 2023 season.

The brothers have been around for the last 13 years, the elder Jasmeet having made his debut in the 2010 season first with George Njoroge and Bhutia Rohit as his navigators before teaming up with his brother from 2013 to date. He has two victories, finished second thrice and third twice in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 10 this year.

Chana faced stiff opposition with fast-rising FIA Rally Star programme pilots McRae Kimathi and Jeremiah Wahome who took third and fourth respectively last Sunday.

Wahome and Kimathi are challenging for second and third positions, a final confirmation that they are no longer junior stars but men well-grown to challenge peers at the highest level of competition.

The biggest pick of the month was certainly young Samman Vohra who won on Sunday, navigated by Alfir Khan in a Skoda Fabia.  As the season draws to a close, the question in very many lips is whether motorsport is on the decline following the dwindling numbers of participants in the KNRC.

Figures don’t lie, and as Phineas Kimathi handed over the leadership of the Kenya Motor Sports Federation (KMSF) two weeks ago, it is imperative to take stock of his leadership from 2016-2023. And whether the future is bright or bleak.

While it is true that the KNRC at the apex is attracting fewer drivers due to economic challenges, in the period under review, motorsports disciplines have grown from five in 2015 to 16 in 2023 or 31.25 per cent growth while the number of activities shot from 36 to 43 in 2023 or 8.3 per cent higher despite the fact that the KNRC has not had a title sponsor for the last two years after withdrawal of KCB Bank and EABL.

The KMSF Competition License holders number has surprisingly been on the rise, a confirmation that motorsports activities have been on an upward trajectory in the last eight years from 244 license holders in 2015 to 268 in 2023 or 9.8 per cent. In the last three years, holders have increased from 113 in 2020 to 268 in 2022 or 42.16 per cent despite Covid-19-related challenges.

There was an improvement in 2022 with 60 motorsports events in the calendar followed by a slump in 2023 after the Clubman Rally Championship series was dropped from the calendar but re-introduced last Sunday in the KMSC Rally.

The absence of the Hill Climb, and Clubman Championship rallies and the reduced number of 4x4 events have impacted negatively on the 2023 calendar due to economic recession.

However, improved interest in rally cross, tarmac and drag racing as well as the re-introduction of club-based disciplines shows a better trend.

The Jim Heather Hayes Memorial Classic Rally was introduced in memory of Jim Heather Hayes who passed on this year.

The KMSF introduced and regulated Tarmac and Drag Racing to serve this niche market and join hands with the government to reduce reckless driving and road carnage. Rally Cross was introduced in 2022 and included in 2023 as a championship discipline.

The Equator Motorsports Club has been inactive since 2014 while all clubs bid for KNRC through a rotational format. Eldoret returned to the KNRC this year after fulfilling mandatory technical obligations.