Wind of change blowing as boys of rallying become men
Kenyan rally driver Hamza Anwar, navigated by Kenya-born American Alex Kihurani, compete in the Rally Estonia in Tartu on July 21, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Recently, FIA Rally Star Programme driver Jeremiah Wahome scored a third position after a neck-and-neck tussle with the top guns in the Eldoret Rally with teammate McRae Kimathi finishing fourth to consolidate his second place in the KNRC standings
- Ganatra made aficionados sit up and take notice on Sunday by pointing out that indeed Kenya had talent which if well harnessed could in the near future produce notable stars on foreign land like Tejas Hirani before Wahome
The wind of change is blowing towards motorsports, and irrespective of the results of the Coast round of the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) next Saturday, this freshness, hope and aspirations are preparations for the inevitable generational handover.
Recently, FIA Rally Star Programme driver Jeremiah Wahome scored a third position after a neck-and-neck tussle with the top guns in the Eldoret Rally with teammate McRae Kimathi finishing fourth to consolidate his second place in the KNRC standings, a scenario last witnessed in the 90s when the Patrick Njiru, Jonathan Toroitich and Ian Duncan axis ruled rallying.
The juniors driving, the one-make Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars factory-prepared by M-Sport Poland, have raced on dust, rough and mud, always coming out as better students. Eldoret was one such setting with some sections being wet to the extreme where, once again, Jasmeet Chana emerged victorious with Ian Duncan's decades-long experience on display in a rear-wheel drive Datsun 240Z classic which he steered to a remarkable second position. The junior drivers are men on a mission. Their star attraction, Hamza Anwar, whose luck has not been held in the KNRC, is expected to conclude his Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) engagement in Greece early next week. He is following the same path curved by Kimathi last year in this programme designed for drivers of today and tomorrow.
Long before the results of Eldoret rally were forgotten, good news from UK — unrelated to athletics — dominated the social media scene after 14-year-old Amaan Ganatra produced a remarkable turn of speed in the Swift Rally Cross Championship in Wales where he finished fourth in his class after notching a third in the semi-finals. Ganatra made aficionados sit up and take notice on Sunday by pointing out that indeed Kenya had talent which if well harnessed could in the near future produce notable stars on foreign land like Tejas Hirani before Wahome.
Back to the FIA Rally Star Programme drivers: When this was started two years ago, little was expected so fast following the tenacity of the WRC Safari Rally CEO Phineas Kimathi and former FIA President Jean Todt who were instrumental for the return of the Safari back to the World Rally Championship with a purpose for the future.
McRae Kimathi and Mwangi Kioni surprised the world when they finished in last year's WRC Sweden despite having never competed on snow before in their life, prompting the world media to equate their performance to that of the Jamaican bobsleigh team in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Like in Kenya, there is no snow in Jamaica but this did not stop Dudley Stokes, Devon Harris, Michael White and Chris Stoke from making it to the Winter Olympics. They were listed as DNF but their attempt catapulted them into international limelight immortalised by the Hollywood blockbuster movie Cool Runnings.
Their efforts brought in funding and sponsorship that Jamaica continued to develop and actually entered the first women's team in the 2018 Peongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea. A documentary on McRae and Kioni was done by a Polish TV team with a similar plot. Now what is next for the FIA Rally Star Programme?
The team is fully engaged in the KNRC and the JWRC for Anwar following support from Safaricom and Kenya Airways for the Safari Rally and KNRC.
But these drivers could not fly higher in the Africa Championship this year due to budgetary constraints.
As the Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has severally stated, the government is willing to support local motorsport besides the WRC Safari Rally. It would be value for money well spent to give financial support to the FIA Rally Star Programme in continental and world stages or Kenya risks missing from the Junior World Rally Championship in future.
Although they say that familiarity breeds contempt in life, it is the direct opposite in sports where meeting and mingling competitively with those better than you can always pull you up.
