Vohra beats Chana to Eldoret rally title
Jasmeet Chana inside their Mitsubishi Evolution 10, car number 1, during flagging off by Uasin Gishu County Governor Jonathan Bii at the start of the Kenya National Rally Championship, Eldoret Rally, held at Uasin Gishu County headquarters on February 17, 2024.
What you need to know:
- The Skoda Fabia crew was among the only eight cars to finish the event organised by Western Kenya Motor Sports Club.
- Jasmeet Chana and Ravi Chana, the reigning Kenyan champions kicked off the new season with second overall position, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX
- Ugandan champions, Yassin Nasser and his navigator, Joseph Kamya were ranked third driving a Ford Fiesta
Samman Vohra and Alfie Khan won the opening round of the 2024 Kenya National Rally Championship in Eldoret on Saturday.
The Skoda Fabia crew was among the only eight cars to finish the event organised by Western Kenya Motor Sports Club.
“We are more than happy to have won our second national event. The first one was the Kajiado Rally last year. It is a fantastic feeling, we are over the moon,” Vohra told Nation Sport.
Jasmeet Chana and Ravi Chana, the reigning Kenyan champions, kicked off the new season with second overall position, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX.
Ugandan champions, Yassin Nasser and his navigator, Joseph Kamya were ranked third driving a Ford Fiesta. The Ugandans were the only foreign drivers in the low entry list of the Eldoret Rally.
Nasser and Kamya will benefit immensely following the recent rule set by the respective leaders of the Motor Sports Federation across the continent.
The leaders of the Motor Sports Federations in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi have agreed to let their respective drivers participate in the respective away rally championships in order to encourage more interest and entries.
Foreign drivers will be allowed to use their local competition licenses and score championship points for their home events separately. They must get a letter from their respective national sporting authorities.
Multiple Kenyan champion and former winner of the Safari Rally, Ian Duncan was placed fourth overall in the sole Nissan Pickup. He was navigated by Jaspal Matharu.
The Chairman of the East African Safari Classic Rally, Joey Ghose also competed in the opening round of the 2024 Kenya National Rally Championship. Driving his Classic Porsche 911 with Kashif Sheikh, the crew finished in sixth position.
Kenya’s major round of the 2024 World Rally Championship, will be the next round of the national championship. The event will be staged on March 30-31.
The official reconnaissance of the Safari Rally route will be done on March 25-26.
The practice will also coincide with the scrutineering of rally cars participating in the Safari Rally.
Provisional results
1.Samman Vohra/Alfir Khan (Škoda Fabia) 77mins:37secs,
2.Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX)79:10,
3.Yassin Nasser/Joseph Kamya (Ford Fiesta) 80:30,
4.Ian Duncan/Jaspal Matharu (Nissan Patrol P/u) 82:16,
5.Ghalib Hajee/Riyaz Ismail (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX) 92:42,
6.Joey Ghose/Kashif Sheikh (Porsche 911) 96:43,
7.Jose Sardinia/Assad Mughal (Mitsubishi Pajero),
8.Khalid Omar/Salim Mohamed (Subaru Impreza).
