Samman peerless in Nanyuki as youngster Neel finishes fifth

•The son of former Kenya Motor Sports Federation (KMSF) chairman, the late JS Vohra, led the Nanyuki Rally Group round from start to finish, winning six out of six stages.

•The legendary Ian Duncan, winner of the 1994 WRC Safari Rally, completed the podium, winning the classic car category in his Datsun 280Z.

Skoda Fabia's Samman Vohra secured his second win of the 2024 Kenya National Rally Championship season following brilliant displays in Nanyuki.

The son of former Kenya Motor Sports Federation (KMSF) chairman, the late JS Vohra, led the Nanyuki Rally Group round from start to finish, winning six out of six stages.

Defending champion Jasmeet Chana came in second incidentally on his very first outing behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R5.

The legendary Ian Duncan, winner of the 1994 WRC Safari Rally, completed the podium, winning the classic car category in his Datsun 280Z.

Samman won the season-opening event in Eldoret but retired during Safari Rally following a mishap on the Kasarani SSS Stage.

Aakif Virani, the winner of the Nanyuki Rally 2021, suffered adversity when his Skoda Fabia R5 went up in flames on CS4, the repeat run of the Mlima Hema speed test. Both Aakif and his navigator escaped unscathed.

Following the stopping of SS 4 — Mlima Hema 2 due to an incident involving Aakif’s Skoda, and by Article 44 and 44.1 of the KMSF National Competition Rules (NCRs), a time of 21:57.9 was allocated to Ian Duncan, Shakeel Khan, Joey Ghose, lady driver Lisa Christoffersen and youngster Neel Gohil who finished fifth overall.

“Having considered that cars No. 7, 20, 25, 55 and 99 were shown a red flag following the fire incident, and having considered that times and split times set before the stopping of the stage, a time of 21:57.9 was allocated to the rest of the drivers,” said clerk of the course Bimal Patel.

The Nanyuki Rally is one of the longest-running KNRC events. It joined the elite KNRC series in 1998, incidentally the same year former President Moi's son, the late Jonathan Toroitich aka JT emerged the Victor.

Following the weekend result, Samman reclaims the KNRC lead from Carl Tundo who did not enter the Nanyuki leg. He now leads the series on 66 points followed by Jasmeet Chana on 53.

Reigning Champion Jasmeet said: "Nanyuki was good. We managed P2 despite some teething problems with our new Fiesta. Our radiator was clogged up with grass in one of the stages, so the engine was running hot, but after that we were okay., We are getting used to the new car."

Final Classification

1.Samman Vohra-Alfir Khan (Skoda Fabia RC5) 01h49m35.5s

2. Jasmeet Chana- Ravi Chana (Ford Fiesta RC5) 01h54.02.0s

3. Ian Duncun- Kavit Dave (Datsun 280Z Classic) 01h58.41.7s

4. Joey Ghose - Ryan Champion (Porsche 911 Classic) 02h16m17.5s

5. Neel Gohil- Wayne Fernandes (Subaru Impreza) 02h23m45.5s

6. Shakeel Khan- Assad Mughal (Ford Escort) 2h24m54.4s

7. Lisa Christoffersen -Lynn Lury (Subaru Impreza) 2h29m03.1s

Drivers

1. Samman Vohra 66

2. Jasmeet Chana 53

3. Ian Duncan 41

4. Carl Tundo 39

5 Minesh Rathod 29

6 Josiah Kariuki 25

7 Aakif Virani 24

8 Yassin Nasser 22

8=Hamza Anwar 22

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).