NAIROBI, Kenya, March 31- Azar Anwar hopes for an improved performance at this weekend’s Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Safari Rally.
Azar who finished third in the opening KCB Biashara Banking rally told Capital Sport that he is ready to tackle one of the world’s toughest rallies despite his Mitsubishi EVO 8 not being primed for the event.
“We have been trying to get spares from overseas. Some of our parts are still stuck at the airport and we have two days to go before the rally,” said Azar on Tuesday.
“I have not been able to test the car the way I would have liked,” added the former champion.
Azar’s younger brother Asad hopes to have his Mitsubishi EVO cleared by the end of Wednesday.
“Unfortunately we have not been able to clear the new car from the airport. We don’t have much time for testing so I’ll be driving cautiously in this rally,” said Azar who retired out of the first rally.
“My game this paln is not to break the new car and also to learn more about it as well,” he added.
Asad expects Elemantaita to be the toughest part of the rally because of the surface.
“That area is very rough. Its dusty and can change in an instant due to the rain which in turn changes the whole rally,” said Asad.
Both drivers were speaking at the relaunch of Oil Libya as their sponsor for the second year running and the unveiling of defending KCB Kenya National Rally Champion Baldev Chager as the new team member.
Oil Libya managing director Kamel Jarnaz reiterated his company’s commitment to improve the sport in the long run.
Over 100 cars have so far registered for this year’s rally which starts this Friday.
The rally will begin with a spectator stage in Nairobi on Friday April 3. For the first leg, crews will then head out to Nakuru and the Lake Elementaita region. The second leg will be based close to Nairobi around Athi River on Sunday. The finish ceremony will then take place in the evening.
At least 47 cars have been entered in category ‘N’, The entry list for this year’s rally contains a high number of local Mitsubishis, with Kenyan Lee Rose leading the local entries in his Lancer Evo IX. Other top drivers who originally took part in the 2007 Safari Rally include Carl Tundo in a Mitsubishi Evo 9 and Asad Anwar in a Mitsubishi Evo 8 who finished on the podium when the event was part of the IRC.
Ian Duncan and Ammar Slatch will be in a Nissan Patrol together with other 3 competitors in the supplementary category that has attracted the least number of competitors. The classic category will have a total of 6 cars in when the rally will be flagged off.
The rally will take place from April 3-5, and will also host the second round of the FIA African Rally Championship. It last appeared on the IRC in 2007, when it formed the opening round of the series. In 2008 it obtained Supporter Event status. This season will herald the 57th running of the rally.
