Saturday’s Rallye Sports Club (RSC) Machakos Rally at the expansive Lisa Ranch will conclude with a nail-biting 15.08km SS6 Phinny 2 Power Stage where title contenders Jasmeet Chana and Karan Patel hope to push for additional championship points.
Leader Chana and Karan Patel head into the penultimate round of the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) separated by 20-points following last month’s Mombasa Motor Club (MMC) Bamba Rally in Kilifi.
The Nairobi based duo will be looking to attack the Power Stage that traditionally runs as the final stage of a rally where additional championship points are available to the fastest three crews regardless of where they actually finished in the rally.
The fastest driver through the Power Stage will savour 3 additional points whilst the second and third fastest drivers will bag 2 points and 1 point respectively.
The stage will first be run as a normal stage in the morning section whereby it’s repeat run in the afternoon will count as the Power Stage. The 3-stage loop also has Phill (30.58km) and Mikey (28.75,km) which will be repeated in the afternoon session.
“We expect the top two (Chana and Karan) to push quite hard on the Power Stage as each one of them will be looking too maximize on points. Anticipated speeds on the Power Stage should treat spectators to some hair-raising thrills given that crews will have mastered the stage on its second run,” Clerk of the Course Helen Shiri explained.
Ongoing rains are expected to pound the black cotton terrain in Lisa which means that wet-weather tyre choice will be inevitable for crews.
Asked about the anticipated wet situation, Jasmeet emphasized: “If it rains this weekend, then it will be very tricky as Lisa Farm is all black cotton soil. All in all, tyre choice will be paramount to all and sundry.”
“My rally car (Evolution X) has undergone vigorous tests in the past week. We hope all goes well. No new parts have been added from the last rally but all we have done is making sure everything is working the way it should.”
Meanwhile, organisers have announced guidelines for spectators following the posting of the Safety Plan for the event which will count towards the eighth leg of the KNRC.
The free spectator area will be located at the main entrance with a view of the start and part of the stage but from behind a fence in a limited area. All spectators will be required to leave the ranch by 6pm.
Pre- event scrutineering and reconnaissance for the event will take place on Friday November 4.
Scrutineering will happen at Gate 9 of Kasarani’s Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) from 10:00 to 14:00hours.
Among those entered for the event include youngsters Hamza Anwar and Rajveer Thethy.
Senior drivers include Edward Maina, Leonardo Varese, Shakeel Khan and Daren Miranda among others.
KNRC STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 7 -MMC BAMBA RALLY
DRIVERS
1 Jasmeet Chana “Iceman” 187
2 Karan K Patel 167
3 Leonardo Varese 75
4 Maxine Wahome 74
5 Kush Patel 73
6 Carl “Flash” Tundo 59
7 Steve Mwangi 49
8 Jeremiah Wahome 41
9 Ghalib Hajee 40
10 Raaji Bharij. 33
10=Zameer Verjee 33
RSC MACHAKOS RALLY ITINERARY
09:00: Start- LISA HQ
09.06: SS 1 Phill 1 (30.58km)
09.44: SS2 Mikey 1 (28.75,km)
10.22: SS3 Phinny 1 (15.08km)
SERVICE A LISA FARM 30Min
11.27: SS4 Phill 2 (30.58km)
12.05: SS5 Mikey 2 (28.75km)
12.40: HOLDING IN
13.00: HOLDING OUT
13.10: SS6 Phinny 2 – POWER STAGE (15.08km)
SERVICE B IN LISA FARM
13.45: SERVICE OUT/ PARC FERME IN
RALLY TOTALS
Competitive: 148.82km (98.91%)
Liaison Distance