Simba Union begins talent search for new crop of rally drivers

Kenya Motorsports Federation President Phineas Kimathi (partly hidden) leads a ceremonial flag-off to launch the Sikh Union Training Rally programme in Nairobi last weekend.

Photo credit: Pool

What you need to know:

  • Meanwhile, the FIA WRC  venture into the Arctic Circle for the first time after WRC Promoter added Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox to the 2021 calendar. 
  • The February 26-28 snow and ice event will be based in Rovaniemi . It will replace the cancelled Rally Sweden as the WRC’s only pure winter race.

The 2021 season has started on a positive note as the Kenya Motor Sports Federation (KMSF) and Simba Union Club embark on discovering the next generation of drivers who will finally take over from the current aging brigade.

The KMSF re-introduced the Training or Clubman rallies which discovered and shaped drivers like former champions Patrick Njiru and Baldev Chager and the late Tanveer Alam in the 80s and 90s.

The club which hosts the highly respected Guru Nanak Rally and a round of the Autocross will on January 24 organise and host training rallies.

Participants will be allowed to enter standard showroom cars provided they meet KMSF safety standards, said the Clerk of the Course (CoC) Onkar Kalsi.

He said the series is also open to Division One drivers to either test their machines or remain active but they will not be classified in the results. Simba Union has never been short of experts and this was clear during the training series launch.

KMSF Chairman Phineas Kimathi, visiting world governing body FIA officials Iain Campbell (Britain), João Passos (Portugal), FIA Vice President Surinder Thatthi, and World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally CoC  Gurvi Babhra,  who is also the KMSF Rallies Commission chairman, were present at the launch. 

The visitors said Kenya has taken the right direction just like other European countries which always have a tailor-made event to fit the entire demographic graph with young drivers being discovered at early ages such as the 1995  WRC the late Colin McRae, also the last WRC Safari winner in 2002.

Kimathi said no sport can thrive without a talent production belt and he expects young Kenyans to take up the sport through training rallies that will be 100 kilometres long.

Top drivers are also welcome to test their machines but will not be classified. 

Aspiring drivers have also the choice of competing in drifting, hill climbs, drag racing 4x4 championships, autocross besides traditional rallying.

Karting is the other discipline that is open to boys and girls aged eight years and above and the Naivasha Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute has been identified as the ideal venue for such competition.

The training rallies will serve the ever growing population of young Kenyans with disposable income. Many, who are owners of Subaru Impreza WRX STi and Mitusbishi Lancer EVO  cars, are renowned for their friendly rivalry and bragging rights.

They prefer racing at Masinga open field and road trips just for fun and they contribute to worthy courses.

But this is also a source of grief for their families as these youth also engage in street racing for all the wrong reasons.

Fatalities are recorded at an alarming rate on smooth roads on the Southern Bypass and Mombasa Road deep in the night.

These youth are also ready to race other road users who overtake them unintentionally just for the kick and fun.

But the KMSF is determined to rope them in rallying and instill discipline at a time when FIA President Jean Todt continues to spread word on the need of using the WRC Safari Rally to promote road safety in Africa.

Presently, the mentioned category of motor racing enthusiates do nothing else constructive to improve their skills in rallying.  

“It is a platform that seeks to spread practical knowledge and experience to the next generation of rally stars,” said Kimathi. 

Meanwhile, the FIA WRC  venture into the Arctic Circle for the first time after WRC Promoter added Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox to the 2021 calendar. 

The February 26-28 snow and ice event will be based in Rovaniemi . It will replace the cancelled Rally Sweden as the WRC’s only pure winter race.