Bangbet sponsors two local drivers as clock as Safari Rally nears
Rally driver John Ngugi (left) and his navigator Josiah Kariuki during the signing of a sponsorship deal with Bangbet on June 17, 2023 at Kasarani.
What you need to know:
- Under the sponsorship deal, Bangbet will fund his preparations, including equipment and branding.
- “If we didn’t get the sponsorship, we could have competed in the rally but it could have been harder. Now things have been made easier for us. I can just go chill down in Naivasha without worrying about who is paying for this, and that,” Kariuki said.
It is just a few days to the 2023 World Rally Championships (WRC) Safari Rally in Naivasha and local drivers are putting final touches to their preparations.
For rally drivers Joe Kariuki and Gerald Maina, the pressure to prepare for the WRC Safari Rally has been eased with local sports betting firm – Bangbet – coming on board with a sponsorship for their two cars.
“Taking part Safari Rally is very expensive, and it means a lot that Bangbet has come on board to sponsor us. I don’t think I could have done a lot by myself,” Kariuki who only bought his Subaru Impreza N10 Prodrive car this year.
Under the sponsorship deal, Bangbet will fund his preparations, including equipment and branding.
“If we didn’t get the sponsorship, we could have competed in the rally but it could have been harder. Now things have been made easier for us. I can just go chill down in Naivasha without worrying about who is paying for this, and that,” Kariuki said.
Maina is excited at the prospect of competing in ent at the to participate in this year’s WRC Safari Rally.
“We had no hope of getting a sponsor to participate in the WRC Safari Rally until Bangbet came on board,” Maina, who will be driving a Subaru N10 car, said.
Kariuki has competed in the WRC in the last six years – including last year when he finished eighth in his category, expressed confidence that he will post better performance.
“We hope to do better, we have changed the plan. We have improved to a better car.”
Last year, Kariuki drove a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 car but this year, he will be driving a Subaru Impreza N10 Prodrive.
“This is a superior car, its performance is equivalent to an Evo 10 and is on prodrive which means it has been manufactured as a rally car,” he explained.
Kariuki says that he feels different ahead of next week’s competition.
“This car is a prodrive and I haven’t driven a prodrive before. I started driving it last week so I need to get a better feel of it but so far it is okay. I am learning,” he said.
“We will go to have fun, that is the best approach. If you prepare yourself, you may overthink of what might happen. If we finish well, that will be fine,” he said.
