NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16 – After finishing second at yesterday’s Mombasa Motor Club Rally Championship in Bamba, Kilifi, new Kenya National Rally Championship leader Jasmeet Chana has attributed his latest achievement to the grace of God and a hardworking racing team.
Chana took full advantage of the absence of immediate former leader Karan Patel whose bid to cement his lead ahead of the pack went up in smoke after retiring early due to a mechanical issue with his car.
” And today, with God’s grace, we have taken the lead in the KNRC championship with two rounds left. Thank you to Ongole Beef, Matica, our team CRS Racing for the great effort and Identisys Ltd!! It’s been a hard one,” Chana said.
Chana, who leads the driver’s standings with 187 points, further credited his CRC racing team for their selfless endeavour to enable him wrestle control of the throne for the first time in the season-long competition.
“The team has been on the ball– so this one is definitely for them. They continue to burn the midnight oil, hence the multiple podiums,” Chana, who was navigated by his sibling Ravi Chana, said.
With only two rounds of competition left to go, Chana can clinch his maiden title with at least two second-placed finishes in November and December.
Despite finishing sixth in Kilifi, Two Wheel Drive/Division 3 leader Leonardo Varese maintained his third position on the drivers’ log with 75 points.
Varese was keen on picking positives from the underwhelming outing and insisted on the importance of finishing safely in the penultimate and ultimate races.
“The approach going forward is to keep our 100 percent finish record intact. We need to enter at least one more event to seal the 2WD Championship at penultimate stage. But we hope to enter the last 2 rounds in order to complete the full season,” he said.
Varese added: “The Auris has been great; a few upgrades here and there but easy to maintain and we have bonded as one.: The open roads in Bamba were well marshalled- very enjoyable route exept for a bit in SS1 which was rough, tight and rocky.”
Bharij, who led in Kilifi from start to finish and defeated Jasmeet Chana by 10.57 minutes, lies 10th in the drivers’ standings with 33 points.
Action moves to Machakos County next month for the penultimate competition, organised by Rallye Sports Club.
- Jasmeet Chana “Iceman” 187
- Karan K Patel 167
- Leonardo Varese 75
- Maxine Wahome 74
- Kush Patel 73
- Carl Flash Tundo 59
- Steve Mwangi 49
- Jeremiah Wahome 41
- Ghalib Hajee 40
- Raaji Bharij. 33
- Zameer Verjee 33
CO-DRIVERS
- Ravi Chana 187
- Tauseef Khan 167
- Kigo Kareithi 75
- Murage Wa Waigwa 74
- Mudassar Chaudry 73
- Riyaz Ismail 52
- Dennis Mwenda 49
- Deep Patel 45
- Victor Okundi 41
- Tim Jessop 39
