Karan shares ARC lead after excelling in Equator Rally
ARC Equator Rally winners Karan Patel/Tauseef Khan (centre), runners-up Yasin Nasser/Ali Katumba (left) of Uganda and third placed Jas Mangat/Joseph Kamya also from Uganda celebrate during the closing ceremony in Taita Taveta County on March 19, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The crew also clinched the Division One driver and navigator titles, respectively, during last season’s national championship.
- Karan and Khan won four out of the five rounds of last year’s African Rally Championship but lost the title narrowly to Leroy Gomes and Urshila Gomes of Zambia.
Kenya’s Karan Patel and Gary Chaynes of Cote d’Ivoire are currently leading the overall standings of the 2023 African Rally Championship (ARC).
Chanyes won the opening round of the Bandama Rally in his home country while Karan is fresh from clinching victory in the Equator Rally held over the weekend.
Karan, the reigning Kenya National Rally Drivers Champion, was navigated by Tauseef Khan, who is also the 2022 National Navigator Championship winner.
The crew also clinched the Division One driver and navigator titles, respectively, during last season’s national championship.
Karan and Khan won four out of the five rounds of last year’s African Rally Championship but lost the title narrowly to Leroy Gomes and Urshila Gomes of Zambia.
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Uganda will host the next round of the 2023 African Rally Championship event on May 6-7.
The rest of the programme has Tanzania Rally July 22-23, Burundi Rally August 19-20, Rwanda Rally September 23-24 and Zambia Rally October 21-22.
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Kenya has won the African Rally Championship crown four times since 2015. Jas Chatthe clinched victory in 2015 followed by Don Smith (2016), Manvir Baryan (2017, 18, 19) and Carl Tundo (2021).
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Nakuru will revive the 2023 Kenya Rally Championship season with its rally to be organised by the Rift Valley Motor Sports Club on 20/21 May.
The Nakuru round will be the third of nine round series.
The rest of the programme has Round 4 KMSF June 24-25, Round 5 Nanyuki Rally August 5-6 , Round 6 Mombasa Rally September 9-10, Round 7 KMSC Rally October 7-8, Round 8 SUC Rally November 4-5 and Round 9 KRT Rally December 2-3.
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Confirmed Equator Rally results: 1.Karan Patel/Tausee Khan (Ford Fiesta), 2. Yassin Nasser/Ali Katumba (Ford Fiesta), 3. Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 4. Jas Mangat/Joseph Kamya (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 5. Izhar Mirza/Kavit Dave (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 6. Asad Anwar/Shameer Yusuf(Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 7. Nikhil Sachania/Deep Patel (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX), 8. Kush Patel/Mudasar Chaudry (Subaru Impreza), 9. McRea Kimathi/Mwangi Kioni (Ford Fiesta).
