Chana, Tundo, Karan, Hamza star-studded KNRC Safari entries at season’s Round 2
Reigning Kenya champion Jasmeet Chana will resume his title defense next week at the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) Safari Rally between March 28 and 31 in Nairobi and Naivasha.
The former Kenya Two Wheel Drive and Group S champion returns to the national series with a new ride (a Ford Fiesta Rally2) hoping to ruffle feathers against the national speedsters.
Chana aka “Iceman” is upgrading from his traditional championship-winning Evolution 10 to a Rally 2 Ford Fiesta he’ll pilot for the first time over the long sporting Easter weekend.
Iceman will, nevertheless, need to keep an eye on his mirrors, as fellow compatriots Karan Patel, Aakif Virani, Samman Singh Vohra and five-time Safari Rally winner Carl “Flash” Tundo will pilot state-of-the-art Rally2 marques.
Tundo, Karan, Aakif and Samman have previous experience in WRC’s second tier category (WRC2) and will be fighting for a share of both KNRC and WRC2 points.
The aforementioned drivers top a bumper entry featuring 20 cars listed in the KNRC list released on Monday. With a superb mix of familiar faces and new blood, spectacular action is guaranteed in the KNRC category.
Current KNRC leader Samman (Skoda Fabia Rally2), last year’s KNRC frontrunner Jeremiah Wahome and 2023 Kenya’s Junior WRC and WRC3 star Hamza Anwar (both in Rally3 Fiestas) are among the star attractions.
Reigning Ugandan and Tanzanian Rally Champion Yasin Nasser of Moil Rally Team Uganda is also in the KNRC mix. Nasser is contesting a full season of the KNRC this year chasing an unprecedented hat-trick of Championship wins in East Africa.
He hopes to finish as high up in the overall standings as possible in Kenya this season to achieve his intended fairytale hattrick having already finished third in Eldoret’s season opener behind Samman and Chana.
