KNRC title going down to the wire

The 2024 Kenya National Rally Championship title chase will go down to the wire in Kasarani and Stoni Athi on the weekend of 29 November to 1 December with defending champions Jasmeet Chana alongside co-driver Ravi Chana and series leaders Samman Vohra/Alfir Khan going for each other’s jugular.

After three action-packed rounds in Eldoret, Nanyuki, and Safari in Naivasha as well as four Force Majeures on KRT, KMSC, Nakuru and Mombasa events, Samman is 14 points ahead of Jasmeet and can comfortably rack-up the coveted title by banking fourth overall on the season-closing ARC Guru Nanak Equator Rally decider regardless of his opponent’s result.

Should Samman’s fairy-tale race weekend come to fruition, the Nairobi-based youngster will savor a maiden KNRC Drivers’ title; having made his rallying debut in the second half of the 2023 season.

If Jasmeet wins the event outright and scores the maximum points (3) on the Power Stage, he stretches his cumulative points score to 85, meaning Samman will be compelled to score 19 points to tie the tally and then win the title on the “cleanest furthest rule”, having won two events so far in Nanyuki and Eldoret.

And should Samman retire and Jasmeet finishes in the top six, the latter retains the title he won for the first-time last season.

Samman retired on Easter’s KNRC Safari following a mishap on the Kasarani SSS speed test whilst Jasmeet skipped the event due to late arrival of his Ford Fiesta car from overseas.

Jasmeet is, by and large, one of the few drivers on the KNRC front to have won virtually all titles including the 2WD, Division One, Division Three, Group N and Group S since his debut in 2007.

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He finished second overall in the 2022 KNRC season following a scintillating homestretch battle with eventual champion Karan Patel in Voi.

Samman leads the way with 66 points, with defending champion, Jasmeet on 52 points, a deficit that can be cancelled out if rally gods favour the latter.

The Sikh Union-organised round will also count towards the season-closer for the 2024 FIA African Rally Championship (ARC).

Karan already has the African title in the bag and the focus will also be on ARC support categories- ARC2 and ARC3 -currently led by Uganda's Mike Mukula Jr. and Nikhil Sachania of Kenya.

The closing round of the ARC and KNRC will take place in Nairobi and Machakos Counties.

Scrutineering is scheduled for Sikh Union Club on Thursday 28 November followed by Ceremonial Start at the same venue on 29 November.

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Qualifying and Shakedown stages will run through Kasarani Stadium’s SSS on Friday, preceding action proper in Stoni Athi area on Saturday 30 November, and Sunday 1 December.

Saturday’s leg 1 features 150.28 kilometers against the clock and is made up of six three stages Spectator (2.5km), Stoni Athi (57.7km) and SGR (14.94km) that will be repeated twice.

Sunday’s 75.14km deciding second leg in will feature three-speed test (Spectator 3, Stoni Athi 3 and SGR 3) followed by Finish Pac Ferme and podium awards.

The third run of the 14.94km SGR speed test will count as the event’s designated Power Stage where ARC and KNRC drivers will earn additional championship points.

FIA APPROVED ENTRY LIST 18/11/2024

1 #12 Karan PATEL-KEN / Tauseef KHAN -KEN (SKODA Fabia Rally2 ARC)

2 #15 Hamza ANWAR-KEN /Adnan DIN -KEN (MITSUBISHI Lancer Evo X NR4 ARC)

3 #6 Nikhil SACHANIA- GBR /Deep PATEL -KEN (FORD Fiesta Rally3 ARC)

4 #1 Jasmeet CHANA-KEN/Ravinder CHANA- KEN (FORD Fiesta Rally2 ARC)

5 #70 Michael MUKULA -UGA/Edward KININGI -UGA (SUBARU NR4 ARC)

6 #4 Samman VOHRA -KEN/Alfir KHAN -KEN (SKODA Fabia Rally2 ARC)

7 #22 Rajveer THETHY/ TBA (SUBARU - National KNRC)

8 #41 Sameer NANJI -KEN/TBA ( TBA/National KNRC)

9 #16 Darren MIRANDA-KEN/Amman SHAH-KEN (SUBARU 2WD -National KNRC)

10 #71 Joshua MUWANGUZI-UGA/Hamuza LWANGA -UGA (SUBARU -National KNRC).