Friday recce for RSC Machakos rally on Lisa Farm

Baldev Chager

Baldev Chager’s Porshe 911 cruises through Amboseli towards victory in the East African Safari Classic Rally on February 18, 2022.  There will be an all-lady team of Olga Lounova, a renowned singer, with her navigator, Lilia Khousnoutdinova from the Czech Republic at this year's East African Safari Classic Rally

Photo credit: Anwar Sidi | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • The Kenya Breweries Limited-sponsored round of the 2022 Kenya National Rally Championship will take place on Saturday morning with the first car being flagged off at 9am
  • The next major round of the East African Safari Classic Rally will be held in December next year
  • Ott Tanak has also withdrawn from next year’s Hyundai Motorsports Team for the World Rally Championship series

The official reconnaissance of this weekend’s route for the RSC Rally in Machakos will be allowed this Friday. The entire competition will be based on the Lisa Farm, on the outskirts of Machakos County.

While the drivers will be out on the route, members of their service crews will be presenting the rally cars for scrutineering at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

The Kenya Breweries Limited-sponsored round of the 2022 Kenya National Rally Championship will take place on Saturday morning with the first car being flagged off at 9am.

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A training rally, to be organised by the Sikh Union Club, will be held on November 12 and 13.

The rally is meant to encourage newcomers into motorsports.

The rally will be held at the Stoni Athi Resort in Machakos County.

The 15-kilometre stage will be repeated four times on the day of the competition. Rally cars from Group ‘N’ with expired but extended homologation will be allowed in the competition.

The rest of the cars that will be allowed are Group S, SPV, 2WD, Classic, SSV and Rally Raid models, race official Gurvir Bhabra says.

Other strict requirements will be the minimum roll cage plus seats and seat belts whose validity period has been increased by five years.

The competitors must also wear race suits, helmets, and HANS (Head and Neck Support) devices. Organisers will charge Sh15,000 entry fee per rally car and Sh1,000 for a carload of spectators.

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The next major round of the East African Safari Classic Rally will be held in December next year. The rally will run from December 9 to 18.

The 10-day event will cover a total distance of approximately 3,500 kilometres retracing many of the classic Safari Rally routes in Kenya and Tanzania. All competitive sections will be on gravel roads open to general traffic.

The rally is divided into three stages per day over 10 days, inclusive of one rest day.

The defined route is prescribed by the “tulip notes” in the road book.

As the rally is run on a secret route, the route’s information will be issued on the day preceding each leg of the rally whose total competitive distance will be 2,000 kilometres and transport section covering 1,500 kilometres.

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Surinder Thatthi will be the Chairman of Stewards for the East African Safari Classic Rally next year. The rally’s General Manager is Pipi Renu while the Event Director is Gillian Dykes and Rally Secretary Ida Tallam. Onkar Kalsi will be chief Clerk of Course assisted by Qahir Rahim as Deputy Clerk of Course, while the Chief Safety Officer will be Dash Patel.

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Ott Tanak has also withdrawn from next year’s Hyundai Motorsports Team for the World Rally Championship series. Tänak joins Swedish youngster Oliver Solberg who also made a similar exit from Hyundai recently.