Equator Rally Shakedown set for Friday

Drivers will get to test their rally cars on Friday as they prepare for the start of the Equator Rally on Saturday.

The process known as the Shakedown will be done Friday morning where the crews will be given the chance to test their machines before the main rally kicks off Saturday morning.

Mwatate Dam within Mwatate Estate in Voi will host the Shakedown activity. The process is only allowed for those cars scoring points for the ARC series..

Kenya's round of the Equator Rally will be the second event of the 2023 African Rally Championship to be organised by a team appointed under the WRC Safari Rally Organisers.

The first of the seven round series was held in Ivory Coast while the next round after the Equator Rally, will be in Uganda.

The two-day round of the African Rally Championship will kick off Saturday morning by the outskirts of Voi where most of the competitive stages will be based around the Taita Estate.

Robert Gow, a former well known rally driver, was the Official Scrutineer of the Equator Rally during the exercise which took place on Thursday.

“My job was to oversee the conformity of the vehicles in their various classes. Also to make sure that all safety measures were in place. Seats, belts, safety cages had to conform as crew must be protected in the event of an accident,” Gow told Nation Sport.

He added: “All fireproof suits and dress equipment must be safe and up to date. My job is to report all signed entries to the stewards before the starting order is released. I oversee safety in the service park confirming that only allowed repairs and parts are being used.”

According to the FIA Rules, all rally cars must be roadworthy and have all lights. They should be working as they are meant to be driven on public roads. Fire exits and first aid kits are mandatory.

Cars must be prepared within the regulations that are listed out in the FIA appendix J articles. Safety is paramount for the crews, spectators and officials, so it is necessary to ensure that all is in order. 

Officials must do rechecks in the course of the competition to make sure that cars which may have had accidents are repaired for restarts. They have to do so at random check cars after the finish for conformities. 

The Scrutineer must remain neutral and follow all the FIA and ASN rules in order to offer fair competition to all entrants.

Types of cars allowed in racing especially for the  FIA ARC Events include the R5, R4, R3 and the R2 cars. Each with specific allowances to run in the classes.

For the KNRC, they have the B13 class which are basically modified R4 cars They have the common GrpN, 2wd, SPVs and some Classic cars. Safety is the major aspect the scrutineers will concentrate on.

Full list:

1.Karan Patel/Tauseef Khan (Ford Fiesta),

2.Akhif Virani/Azar Bhatti (Skoda Fabia),

3.Baldev Chager/Gareth Dawe (Subaru Impreza N12),

4.Raaji Bharij/Ravi Soni (Ford Escort MK2), 

5.Izhar Mirza/Kavit Dave (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX),

6.Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Evolution10), 

7.Piero Cannobio/Mart de Paoli (Hyundai 120), 

8.Yassin Nasser/Joseph Kamya (Ford Fiesta), 

9.Hamza Anwar/Adnan Din (Ford Fiesta);

10.McRae Kimathi/Mwangi Kioni (Ford Fiesta), 

11.Nikhil Sachania/Deep Patel (MitsubishiLancef EvoX), 

12.Nzoika Waita/Tuta Mionki (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX),

13.Jeremaih Wahome/Victor Okundi (Ford Fiesta), 

14.Rio Smith/Riyaz Ismail (Ford Fiesta), 

15.Kush Patel/Mudasar Chaudry (Subaru Impreza), 

16.Ian Duncan/Jaspal Matharu (Nissan 280Z), 

17.Gurjit Dhabi/Manmeet Birdi (Subaru), 

18.Jas Mangat/Joseph Kamya (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 

19.Asad Anwar/Shameer Yusuf(Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX),

20.Anthony Nielsen/William Bass (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX)