NAIVASHA, Kenya, Apr 3 – Sports Cabinet Secretary Amb. Amina Mohamed has hailed FIA Rally Star youngsters for their encouraging performances at the African Rally Championship (ARC) Equator Rally that concluded in Naivasha on Sunday.
The CS pledged support to the rally quartet of Jeremy Wahome, McRae Kimathi, Hamza Anwar and Maxine Wahome who all ended the two-day grueling event in the top ten.
Amina also praised 19 year-old Fly540 Racing Team prodigy Rio Smith for being among the top ten finishers in the continental showpiece.
Jeremy was the best placed young driver in fourth place behind compatriot Jasmeet Chana who sealed a podium finish alongside champion Karan Patel and second placed Leroy Gomes of Zambia.
Hamza surprised all and sundry in the early morning speed test at Loldia where he set the quickest stage time ahead of Gomes and Patel.
“Congratulations to the young drivers. They have all our support and we are proud of them. We are indebted to them. From this event they have shown us what real talent is all about.”
“They have also shown us what resilience is all about. Some of them retired yesterday (Saturday) and restarted the rally today (Sunday) on a high note under the Super Rally rule. I think we picked a winning team and that’s the squad we are going forward with,” said CS Amina, who was speaking during the closing ceremony.
CS Amina also lauded MacRae Kimathi for his WRC 3 podium in WRC Rally Sweden where he also finished fourth in the Junior WRC.
Kimathi Junior entered his name in the annals of motorsport history as the first ever Kenyan to finish a rally on snow.
“It’s the first time ever that a Kenyan has completed an all-snow fixture in Europe. It has never happened before. I think we have placed out bets correctly and we wish them well.
Amina hinted that there will be more local entries this season in the WRC Safari Rally to be held in the lakeside town of Naivasha in June.
“From the lessons we learnt last year, this year’s WRC Safari Rally will be much bigger and better.”
