NAIROBI, Kenya 6th July – The long wait is over. South Coast residents and their upcountry counterparts have every reason to smile when the powerful turbo-charged machines zoom off from KCB Ukunda branch tomorrow.
The two-day KCB S&L Mortgages Rally marks the second half and by extension the fifth round of the eight-leg Kenya National Rally Championship.
The event’s highlight revolves around two aspects- the long endurance sections that will be tackled at super special speeds as well as the hair-raising spectators stage next to Ukunda airstrip for public viewing.
Mombasa Motor Club Secretary Essak Ghalia said the Ukunda Airstrip spectator stage will be repeated on Sunday to give spectators more of the action.
The repeat run of Ukunda spectator stage on Sunday is the last stage of the rally prior to the finish programmed for Leisure Lodge at 12.57pm. today, crews felt the rigors of the route during the scheduled reconnaissance.
One of the biggest attractions is the 78kilometer stage in Shimba Hills that calls for extra caution, concentration and level-headedness, according to Ghalia.
“As we speak now, drivers are on recce and I’m getting a good feedback that they are loving it,” said Essak.
A total of 62 drivers will partake the event and this goes down in the folklore as the highest entry ever registered in the MMC event.
“There is lots of excitement with numbers,” said Ghalia who is also the event director.
Meanwhile, Harpreet Sagoo “Hapz” and his partner Harvinder Dhanjal “Harru” hope finish their home event. The duo made rallying history by being the first ever all- “Kalasinga” crew from Mombasa to attempt and finish the Safari Rally.
Hapz’s father Surjit Singh Sagoo rallied from late 70s to early 80s and drove a Datsun 1600SSS which was prepared by him to the Datsun PA10 spec and ruffled feathers under Sagoo Rally Team (SRT) livery.
The Coast legion has the likes of Coast Champion Naushad Kara, Izhaz Mirza, in his Subaru N12, Alastair Cavenagh, Peter and Alex Horsey, Farhan Khan “Don”, Rob Hellier, Jamohammed Abdulatif and his sister Farzin Janmohammed. Others are Sudesh Hirani “Hakuuz”, Hapz Sagoo, Yusuf Pasta, Paras Pandya, Nadeem Kana, Jitendra Davda, Khalid Yusuf, Victor Okundi and Riyaz Shiraz.
The 2WD Class has attracted 12 drivers including Gurmit Thethy (VW Golf GTi), two times former champion Leo Varese, the current Champion James Kirimi, Rajbir Rai and the father and son crew of Jitendra Davda “Jitu” and Jetein Prakash Babu (Toyota Marino).
RALLY PROGRAM
SATURDAY 7TH JULY 2012
Start – KCB Ukunda 14:00hours
Holding Point – Ukunda Airstrip
Cs 1 Ukunda Special Start 1 15:02
Ce 1 Ukunda Special End 1
1b Service A Out 15:25
1c Leisure Lodge Parc Ferme In 15:41
SUNDAY 8TH JULY 2012
Start: Leisure Lodge Parc Ferme Out 07:00
Cs 2 Ndaveya Start 07:15
Ce 2 Ndaveya End
2a Service B In 08:18
Cs 3 Kafi Choni Start 09:03
Ce 3 Kafi Choni End
3a Service C In 10:09
Cs 4 Samburu Road Start 10:54
Ce 4 Samburu Road End
Cs 5 Bundini Start 11:30
Ce 5 Bundini End
Cs 6 Ukunda Special Start 2 12:43
Ce 6 Ukunda Special End 2
Finish: Leisure Lodge Parc Ferme 12:57
