Omar beats Bengi in breathtaking autocross seven showdown
Despite breaking his gearlever in the early morning practice heat, 33-year-old Sahib Omar swept the ground with all his opponents as the seventh round of the KCB Kenya National Autocross Championship culminated at Jamhuri Park racetrack at the weekend.
Driving an ex-Asad Khan Subaru Impreza GC8, Onar beat Menengai Cream KNRC Premier Class driver Eric Bengi by 16 seconds to win the 4WD Turbo Class on a tight and twisty 1.5km track.
And the Ray Racing rising star accomplished his mission in style, also setting the fastest overall time on the Sikh Union Nairobi organised meeting after he cleared the third heat in 3.49.84 minutes.
Bengi, who has returned to circuit racing ostensibly to perfect his lines on tight and twisty sections, sung praises of Omar at the conclusion of the four official heats which treated spectators to some exhilarating displays of autocross artistry.
Bengi racked up the practice and first heats but Omar, who is also the 4WD Turbo defending champion, bounced back to win the second, third and fourth.
“Starting from the beginning, everything was okay. But in the practice heat, I broke my gearlever. So sadly I couldn’t give it my all. We replaced the gearlever in the first heat, but it wasn’t performing well.
After the third heat is when everything returned to normal and that is when I got to give the fastest overall heat time,” said Omar. Rehan Shah completed the podium dash in 4WD Turbo Class behind Sahib and Bengi. Bengi’s mechanic Michael Maina, who also drove the team’s N12, finished fourth. Imran Hakada won the Open Class with Kunal Patel beating Shalien to the 2WD Turbo honours.
Zameer Verjee extended his lead on the KCB Auctocross log after he beat Sahi Mughal in the 2WD Non Turbo class.
Yuvraj Rajput also extended his championship lead with the fastest time of the Day in the fourth heat after clocking 4.49.0 as Tsevi Soni and Illyun Mughal came in second and third respectively.
