Baldev Chager eyeing third Mini Classic title

East African Mini Classic Rally, now in its third edition, will be held between 8 and 11 December with organisers saying all is ready for action.

Multiple Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) winner Baldev Charger is expected to compete for his third title at the Mini Classic. 

Baldev is already testing his Porsche for the ebent but maintains that every rally is different so he is not guaranteed of victory. 

"It is a gamble. If you win you win, if you don't you don't. Victory boils down to a number of things; the preparation, the mindset and the team work. I can say we are pretty well prepared, as long as everything goes well we should be on top of the podium," he told The Standard. 

Entries opened on the 4 July and the closing date is set for 30 November with 33 drivers already confirmed. The rally starts in Nakuru on 9 December and finishes two days later in Eldoret. 

The last two editions of the Mini Classic have been won by the three-time Safari rally champion and the 2022 East African Safari Classic winner, navigated by Ravi Soni in the Kabras-entered Porsche 911.

Stage set for Sikh Union training rally

The four-time KNRC champion beat Finland's Tapio Laukkunen and Kenya's Ian Duncan in the last two Mini Classic rallies. 

In the first edition, Laukkanen, who initially seemed nerveless in his first historic rally on Kenya soil, led on three of the nine stages, but broke the front suspension on his first drive in a Porsche 911 and had to settle for second place with Gavin Laurence. 

In 2021 Chager and Soni emphatically preserved their remarkable two-year unbeaten run on the event with a seven-minute victory over legend and two-time EASRC winner Duncan to take a dramatic win in the Porsche 911.

The first edition of the Mini Classic Safari was organised in 2018 in memory of JS Vohra, the patriarch of Whitesands Hotel based in the South- coast of Mombasa where the headquarters of East African Safari Classic Rally was based. 

Vohra passed away when his vehicle rolled in Amboseli while following the East African Safari Classic Rally (EASCR) rally in 2017.

The second edition was held successfully during the tough Covid-19 pandemic period in 2021. The Mini Classic is the forerunner of the bigger EASCR.  

Entry list

1. Jonathan Somen/Richard (Ford Escort MK2)

2. Arshad Khan/Farhaaz Khan (Porsche 911)

3. Shakeel Khan/Assad aMughal (Ford Escort MK1)

4. Lola Verlaque / TBA (VW Golf MK1)

5. Malcolm Rich/Adrian Cavenagh (Ford Escort MK2)

6. Remon Vos/Stephane Prevot (Porsche 911)

7. Bar Vanhaverbeke/TBA (Mercedes)

8. Raaji Bharij/Ravi Soni (Ford Escort MK1)

9. Sam Karangatha/Steve Nyorri (Datsun 180B),

10. Ian Duncan/Anthony Nielsen (Datsun 280Z), 11. Eric Bengi/Gatimu Mindo (Datsun Violet GT), 12. Kavisi Evans Kavisi/Absalom Aswani (Datsun Violet GT)

13. Nish Lakhani/Teeku Patel (Datsun 1600 SSS)

14. Ann Taieth/TBA (Datsun 1600 SSS)

15. Steven Parkinson/Russell Parkinson (Ford Escort MK2)

16. Rajesh Maini/Devan Bhundia (Ford Escort MK1)

17. Azar Anwar/TBA (BMW 535)

18. Bobby Chaudry/Mudasar Chaudry (Nissan Silvia)

19. Tariq Khan/TBA (Datsun 1600 SSS)

20. Hamza Anwar/Adnan Din (Datsun PA10)

21. Asad Anwar/Rob Warmisham (Toyota Levin), 22. Rajay Sehmi/Raj Jutley (Porsche 911)

23. Piers Daykin/TBA (Datsun 280Z)

24. Malcolm Destro/TBA (Datsun 280Z)

25. Baldev Chager/Gareth Dawe (Porsche 911) 26. Carl Tundo/Tim Jessop (Triumph TR7)

27. Samman Vohra/Kishan Kondola (Rage Buggy)

28. Adil Haq/Kavit Dave (Range Rover)

29. Jose Sardinha/Glen Castle (Pajero)

30. Robbie Calder/TBA (TBA).