•Driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2 and navigated by Alfir Khan, the Nairobi-based youngster beat reigning Kenya champion Jasmeet Chana, who was timed at 1.33.000 minutes in a Mitsubishi Lancer B13.
•Reigning Uganda and Tanzania Rally champion Yasin Nasser came in third also in a Ford Fiesta after finishing in 2.57.00 minutes
Image: FILE
Samman Vohra won the season-opening Eldoret Rally after clearing six stages in a time of one hour 17 minutes 37 seconds.
Driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2 and navigated by Alfir Khan, the Nairobi-based youngster beat reigning Kenya champion Jasmeet Chana, who was timed at 1.33.000 minutes in a Mitsubishi Lancer B13.
Reigning Uganda and Tanzania Rally champion Yasin Nasser came in third also in a Ford Fiesta after finishing in 2.57.00 minutes
Nasser, a two-time Uganda champion in 2019 and 2023, is hoping to deliver an unprecedented hat-trick this season by being the first rally driver to win all elite championship titles in the three East African countries.
Samman, who previously competed in local Rally Raid and Autocross events, is hoping to seal a maiden career Kenya National Rally Championship title in 2024.
Having made a late foray into the local series last season, Samman has displayed grit and pace, winning in Kajiado in blistering fashion.
He said: “The objective for the year is to just keep on improving our pace by the day. The car has gone through a major strip down and rebuild and we are happy to emerge the winners in the season opener. We are also doing the Safari and we hope the car performs.”
Ian Duncan, navigated by Jaspal Matharu in a Nissan Patrol pickup came in fourth overall, also winning the SPV (Specially Prepared Vehicles) Category.
Coming in a distant fifth was home driver Ghalib Hajee in a B13 Mitsubishi Evolution X. He finished 15.05.000 minutes behind the winner and 10.26.000 minutes behind Duncan.
Another home driver Joey Ghose finished sixth overall in a Porsche 911. This saw him finish first in the Classic Car category.
Jose Sardinha in a VW Golf GTi was seventh overall and 2WD winner while Khalid Umar in a Subaru Impreza racked up Group 'S' after placing eighth overall.
The WRC Safari Rally will count as the second round of the KNRC on the weekend of March 28-31. For the last three editions since its elevation to global status, the WRC Safari features a national category where drivers and navigators score points towards the local series.
The Kenyan round of the FIA African Rally Championship (Equator) will also count towards KNRC points. This year’s Equator Rally, initially scheduled for October, will now be held four months earlier in June.
The Kenyan leg of the FIA African Rally Championship—previously used as a dry run for the WRC Safari Rally—will now happen on the weekend of June 28-30.
Rwanda had requested a change of date because of the country's national elections which coincided with the initial data of June.
Consequently, Rwanda's Gorilla Rally now moves from June to the weekend of October 25-27.