Arican Rally Champion Karan Patel has ex-Carl Tundo 2018 Skoda Fabia R5 ahead of the WRC Safari Rally Kenya on March 28-31.
The Skoda replaces his longstanding Ford Fiesta R5 which won him the 2023 FIA African Rally Championship alondside navigator Tauseef Khan.
Tundo drove the Skoda at last year’s Safari in Naivasha where he finished third in WRC2 category behind Kajetanowicz Kajetan of Poland and Czech Martin Prokop.
Karan unveiled his yellow and green livery outside Kencom House, Nairobi, during the official launch of KCB Bank’s 2024 WRC Safari Rally sponsorship.
Karan took Sports CS Ababu Namwamba for a ride in his contraption along Moi Avenue, Nairobi, where he treated a large crowd to some exhilarating displays.
The son of retired navigator, Kiran Patel, also inked a new deal with KCB Bank ahead of Safari and his ARC title defence.
He is in a two-car KCB Racing Team, alongside physically challenged driver Nikhil Sachania (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) in a deal worth Sh16.6m.This is part of the Bank’s Sh195m sponsorship package for this year’s Safari.
“We sold the old car (Fiesta). Someone was keen to take it off our hands. We had to look for another car. It's not like we were looking to upgrade, but the opportunity came our way," said Karan.
He targets a top 10 (overall) finish to emulate the 2021 edition.
“Achieving a top 10 is not going to be easy. It will require a lot of high-risk driving. We have failed to finish in two consecutive editions. I don’t know if we are in for just a finish or a top ten in rankings. It’s a tricky position we are in because luck plays a part in this game," said Karan.
After Safari, Karan will seek to defend his ARC title in his new machine. “It’s always easy to win a title but keeping it is difficult. I didn’t celebrate winning my maiden Africa Championship title last year since I don't want to be a one-time champion. Our dream is to win it a few more times,” he added.
“We have tested the car once but we need to do it some more. Luckily, I have been in an R5 before so it’s not much of a difference, just that the driving style changes."
