Have you ever wondered how drivers racing with disabilities hack it in the cockpit and the technology that helps make it possible?
Well, Nikhil Sachania is such a driver who won’t let a common form of disability stand in the way of his racing aspirations.
Nikhil won the hearts of many motoring enthusiasts by returning to a sport which nearly killed him but instead confined him to a wheelchair.
But most importantly, he rebounded in 2014 to win the Sports Personality of the Year (Soya) award in the special category. He is also a multiple winner of the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) Specially Prepared Vehicle Class and Motorsport Personality of the Year. He has dominated the SPV Class, winning it thrice(2014, 2015 and 2019).
His passion for the ‘Man and Machine’ game is immeasurably amazing and this is what brings him back to the cockpit time and time again.
So how did motor racing passion change his life?
In September 2011, Nikhil was involved in an accident in Athi River, where he was testing his new quad alongside Shazar Anwar and Zane Young ahead of his would-be his first national event.
He then hit a rock at high-speed and landed head first with the impact shattering his spine. Despite the seriousness of the injuries, this never stopped him from pursuing his dream in the motoring world.
“I have always loved motorsports. I can’t remember my first encounter with the rally but I guess it dates back to my dad’s rallying days in the 1980s.
“Well, during my rehabilitation after the accident, there were two or three people in our team, who were still driving and so it never really slipped my mind.
“As soon as I had enough strength, I jumped back into the cockpit. My father and my uncle (Kiran Patel) were around to guide and advise me and I always knew whom to turn to when I needed help,” he said.
“The first three months were the hardest since I had also broken my left hand. Getting around was very difficult and frustrating. But immediately I got back, everything was back to normal—work during week-days and partying over the weekends! I love the feeling!”
And having already made impressive gains in his category, Nikhil now targets to win the Division One Championship and eventually the elite Premier Class if he gets promoted to the next level which is the summit.
“At the moment, my goal is to retain the SPV title and clinch Division One Championship. From there, we will see what happens.”
Nikhil’s initial car (a Mitsubishi Challenger (3-litre V6) was acquired locally and built by his first co-driver Charan Singh. “All my cars are hand controlled. The operation is a simple 'push and pull' lever mechanism. I mean pull to accelerate and push to brake.”
Nikhil studied project management in the United Kingdom and works at Samani Construction Ltd as a project manager.
“Work always comes first then sports. My rally car is always based at my workplace, so it is fairly easy to check up on it once or twice a day. Out of all the cars I have driven, The ‘Challenger’ was really fun to drive! It felt like you are driving in a monster truck. The Evo X is faster and I’m loving it every day. Compared to the S2000 which was normally aspirated, the EVO X is a turbo-powered car. The gearbox makes all the difference. The Abarth had a sequential gearbox while the EVO runs on a standard spec,” he narrates.
Nikhil has vivid memories for Safari Rally 2014. “It was always a dream to take part in such an event. That particular Safari was very well organised and the stages were a good mix of rough, fast and twists. On the first day, we led the SPV Class by almost a minute. On Day 2, we stopped to help a 2WD car that was stuck in the ditch in the Loldigas. Unfortunately, their tow rope would release off our car and we lost quite a bit of time as the car behind caught up with us. We overtook them later in the subsequent stage but at the end of the day, we had lost our position in the SPV and overall. Day 3 of that Safari was fun. We pushed the car as much as we could on Loldiga to finish first in our class.”
Nikhil started his rallying career in the 2014 KCB Mtaani Eldama Ravine Rally with Charan Singh in the Challenger. He later upgraded to a Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 and now a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X classified under Specially Prepared Vehicles (SPV) and non-homologated.
The Evolution X is a Group ‘N’ spec but the addition of the hand controls and the SST transmission makes it SPV.
“I feel I am getting a good trip with the Evo X now. Our results are progressively getting better with every rally and hopefully, with some good sponsorship, I’ll be able to push it harder.”
Nikhil finished sixth in the Guru Nanak Rally, which was the first leg of the KNRC and eighth in the second leg in Nyahururu. The two results have since elevated him to the summit of Division One and SPV Championships. He currently sits fourth on the overall KNRC standings behind Baldev Chager, Carl Tundo and Jasmeet Chana.
The biggest thing Nikhil has to overcome while steering his rally car is lack of foot activities.
“Initially, it was difficult especially in the Abarth S2000 but thank God practise makes perfect. It is much easier to drive now although, through tight stages, it does become challenging.”
“I want to be the first physically-challenged KNRC Premier Class driver. It’s obviously going to be a tough road but I continue to dream big and work hard to achieve it.”
“Once the season resumes, we hope to fight for the Division 1 honours and defend our SPV Championship.”
Nikhil savours his 2020 KCB KNRC drive which earned him the Dr Supi Soin/Tanveer Alam Memorial Award for a top 10 finish during the season opener in Stoni Athi.
“I was very honoured to receive this award although I didn’t expect to be the recipient. We had a pretty clean rally apart from a few issues towards the end of the rally at Stoni Athi. I was overly excited with the sixth overall placing. Seeing how the first round ended, we seem to have a good position to challenge for the Division 1 Championship. We will try to maintain the pace throughout the season and try to keep it clean. It’s our hope that the COVID19 pandemic will be contained soon to allow the season to resume.”
Nikhil is the son of rally driver Dinesh Sachania better known as “Kaka Samani”.
NIKHIL SACHANIA LOWDOWN
Nickname: Nik
Event: KNRC
Racing Category: SPV and Division 1
Date of Birth: 07/01/89
Team: Filmico Racing Team
Profession: Project Manager
Hometown: Nairobi
Racing debut: Eldama Ravine Rally 2014
Achievements
Motorsport Personality of the year 2014.
SOYA disability sport personality of the year 2014/2015
KNRC SPV Champion 2014
KNRC SPV Champion 2018
KNRC Division 3 Champion 2018
KNRC SPV Champion 2019
Current leader KNRC Division 1 leader
