Karan, Chana in neck and neck race for KNRC title

Jasmeet Chana

Jasmeet Chana (right) and his navigator Ravi Chana receive the finishers' trophy from WRC Safari Rally Kenya CEO Phineas Kimathi in Naivasha.

Photo credit: Pool

What you need to know:

  • Former Africa Rally Championship winner Carl Tundo, who is also a former Safari Rally and KNRC winner, won last season’s series.
  • Tundo retired from active rallying end of last season, and only competed in selected events. He is the brains behind the introduction of rally cross in Machakos.

This weekend’s Guru Nanak Rally in Voi promises to deliver one of stiffest battles in the race for the overall Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) title.

Karan Patel, winner of the last seven rounds of the KBL-sponsored KNRC series, trails Jasmeet Chana by nine points, with only the Sikh Union Club event left to be run in the series.

Karan is second in KNRC table of standings with 200 points behind leader Chana who has 209 points.

As per the rules, whoever wins this weekend in Voi will earn 30 points towards the title race, as the second-placed driver takes 24 points.

The third-placed driver will earn 21 points.

The Power Stage could also prove a game changer in the Guru Nanak Rally as Karan chases his eighth win of the season.

Winner of the Power Stage earns three points towards the title race, while the second and third-placed drivers earn two points and one point respectively.

Should Karan win the Guru Nanak Rally this weekend, he will earn 30 points. He will add another three points to his tally should he win the Power Stage.

In that case, the two drivers would be tied on the same number of points, and Karan would be declared the overall winner of the 2022 KBL KNRC Series by virtue of having won more rallies than Chana.

Should Chana win the Guru Nanak Rally this weekend, he will be crowned the KNRC winner.

The Guru Nanak Rally will be organised by the Sikh Union Club of Nairobi this weekend. The route will be based around Voi.

The Main Service Park for the competition will be based at Taita Estates on the outskirts of Voi.

Drivers will be allowed to perform the official reconnaissance of the route of the rally on November 26 between 7am and 6pm.

Voi Wildlife Lodge will be the centre place for the scrutineering of the Rally cars on Saturday.

The man rally will start on Sunday at 7am and finish any time from 2pm. There will be three competitive stages that will be done twice.

The total number of competitive stages will be eight while the Liaison Stages will be two. The competitive stages will go through Camp (24 kilometres), Karani (23.69km), and Kamfunga (10.55km) respectively.

The total mileage of the competition will be 230km. The Competitive distance will be 159.17km, while the transport distance will be 70.91km.

Former Africa Rally Championship winner Carl Tundo, who is also a former Safari Rally and KNRC winner, won last season’s series.

Tundo retired from active rallying end of last season, and only competed in selected events. He is the brains behind the introduction of rally cross in Machakos.