Controversy as Karan Patel emerges Nanyuki Rally winner

Karan Patel navigated by Tauseef Khan racing on a Ford Fiesta during ARC Equator Rally Shakedown

Karan Patel navigated by Tauseef Khan racing on a Ford Fiesta during ARC Equator Rally Shakedown at Loldia on April 1, 2022.


Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Raaji Bharij, who was adjudged to have won his first ever rally, is said to have missed a Time Control before entering the Perc Ferme in his Skoda Fabia
  • It was also a satisfying performance for Jasmeet Chana and his brother Ravi after they registered their fifth consecutive second place finish
  • Patel now has five victories from the last five rounds of the KNRC

Controversy hit the Nanyuki Rally as Karan Patel was classified as winner of the sixth round of the KBL-sponsored Kenya National Rally Championship series.

Raaji Bharij, who was adjudged to have won his first ever rally, is said to have missed a Time Control before entering the Perc Ferme in his Skoda Fabia. The penalty for missing a TC is disqualification.

A similar incident is also adjudged to have knocked out Hamza Anwar who had missed a TC on his way to the final destination. Anwar was headed for the third overall position.

Patel now has five victories from the last five rounds of the KNRC. The latest victory came in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10 with Tauseef Khan. The previous four wins came in a Ford Fiesta.

It was also a satisfying performance for Jasmeet Chana and his brother Ravi after they registered their fifth consecutive second place finish at wheels of the Angole Beef- sponsored Mitsubishi Lancer.

The crew had finished in the second places in all the previous rounds of the series and was lying a mere one point behind Patel in championship table before the Nanyuki Rally. They are still lying second in the series despite finishing in second overall position.

Former National Navigator Champion, Piers Daykin, returned to successful action after a long absence.

The former co-driver to Lee Rose, finished in a commendable third place driving a Datsun 280Z with Tariq Malik as his partner.

The former Formula Two Champions Leo Varese and Kigo Kariethi clinched the 2WD Class win by finishing ninth overall driving a Toyota Auris.

The F2 category had attracted four different models of rally cars ranging from the Ford Fiesta of Rio Smith, Subaru Impreza of Rajveer Thetthy, VW Golf GTI of Sameer Nanji and Varese’s Toyota Auris of Varese.

The main overall championship is open to four-wheel drive machines like the Skoda Fabia, Mitsubishi Lancer Evi10 and Hyundai models.

The National Classic Class was tackled mostly by the veteran drivers like Ian Duncan whose Datsun 280Z finished in fifth place while Carl Tundo’s Triumph TR7 settled fourth.

Nanyuki attracted the largest number of cars so far after disappointing entries in the last four local rounds of the Kenya National Rally Championship. This was the first time the entry list exceeded beyond 15 cars. Nanyuki had 21 cars.

Mombasa will stage the next round of the KBL-sponsored Kenya National Rally Championship event on October 15-16.

Thereafter, two more rounds will be left before the season comes to an end.

Rallye Sports Club of Nairobi will host its round on November 5-6 while Simba Union Club will close the season on November 26-27.

Rwanda will be the penultimate round of the 2022 African Rally Championship to be held on September 24-25. Zambia will close the 2022 ARC season with its event on October 22-23.

Provisional Results:

1. Karan Patel/Tauseef Khan (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX),

2. Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi EvoX),

3. Piers Daykin Tariq Malik (Datsun 280Z),

4. Carl Tundo/Samuel Taylor (Triumph TR7),

5. Ian Duncan/Jaspal Matharu (Nissan Datsun 240Z),

6. Issa Amwari/Edward Njoroge (Mitsubishi EvoX),

7. Steve Mwangi/Dennis Mwenda (Subaru Impreza),

8. Maxine Wahome/Murage Waigwa (Subaru Impreza),

9. Leo Varese Kigondu Kareithi (Toyota Auris),

10. Daren Miranda/Vinay Varsani (Subaru Impreza),

11. Edward Maina/Anthony Gichohi (Subaru Impreza).