• Nikhil hopes to tackle selected races in the FIA African Rally Championship.
• Nikhil believes his performance behind the wheel will prove immensely given the nature of the M-Sport prepared machine.
Image: HANDOUT
Paraplegic driver Nikhil Sachania believes his new Ford Fiesta Rally3 will catapult his career to new heights on the FIA Rally Pyramid.
The car, acquired from Hamza Anwar, has already been converted to a hand-controlled contraption and inspected by the world governing body, FIA.
He now awaits certification from FIA next week. If successful, the 2014 Motorsport personality of the year will be eligible to score WRC3 points on WRC Safari and other World Rally Championship events.
The contraption is similar to the Fiestas previously steered on Safari, KNRC and ARC by rally stars Jeremiah Wahome, Hamza, Maxine Wahome and McRae Kimathi.
Nikihil’s Rally3 is only two steps away from the Rally 1 Hybrid car (what was previously known as the World Rally Car) and Rally 2 (the former
R5), run by Karan Patel in the ARC. Rally 4 and 5 are Two-Wheel Drive performance and access cars respectively.
“In the WRC Safari, Deep Patel and I had an unfortunate accident where we rolled six or seven times. Luckily, we came out unscathed. But the Evolution X was damaged beyond repair. We explored some options over the past two months and settled for the ex-Hamza Anwar car, the one he drove on this year’s WRC Safari,” Nikhil said.
FIA technical officials visited Nikhil two weeks ago to inspect the car and ensure it conforms to the laid down safety precautions.
Nikhil said: “The hand controls were inspected by the FIA. The preliminary report has been passed and we are waiting for them to send the official report with the certification next week.”
“I have had a couple of accidents in my life but my mentality is that nothing can stop me from rallying It’s in the family DNA.”
Nikhil also believes his performance behind the wheel will prove immensely given the nature of the M-Sport prepared machine.
“In comparison with the Evolution 10, the Fiesta is nimble and much lighter,” said Nikhil.
Nikhil hopes to tackle selected races in the FIA African Rally Championship. He will be navigated by Deep, who navigated him since he acquired the Evolution.
“The essence is to get some seat time. It’ll be a great feeling too as new cars come with new ideas and expectations. I don’t think our teething problems will last long. We watched the Rally3 being steered by the Rally Starts and we were pleasantly surprised by what the car can achieve in terms of performance,” added Deep.
“Moving from right to left hand drive will also be a challenge.”
Meanwhile, the duo have received a Sh5 million boost from KCB Bank.