Kenyan rally ace Issa Amwari is gunning to improve on his 25th place from last year when he competes at this year's WRC Safari Rally in Naivasha this weekend.
While signing a sponsorship deal with betting firm BetNare, Amwari said he is inspired for the rough Rift Valley terrains as he seeks an improved placing while still having fun.
Amwari, a former Kenya National Rally Championships Division Two champion, will be piloting a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X navigated by longtime partner Job Njiru with the hope of finishing the grueling challenge.
“I think the car is in good shape. My team has been burning the midnight oil to ensure we are ready for the rally,” he said, adding that the undisclosed financial boost from BetNare had come at an opportune time and will play a big part in fueling his ambitions this weekend.
“I appreciate the good gesture from my new sponsors. I will be driving in their colours and I hope that with this financial support, I will be able to go all the way to the finishing ramp."
Amwari kickstarted his rallying career in 2010 behind the wheel of a Subaru hatchback and upgraded to an Evolution 9 in 2013 before racking up a career-best fifth in the Nakuru Rally of 2014.
In 2016, he acquired his current Evolution X machine and three years later, went one better by chalking up another career-best fourth on the Eldoret event.
Amwari entered seven events in 2019 and finished four in the top 10 — ninth in Kilifi, sixth in Nanyuki and eighth in Nakuru. This will be his second successive shot at the World Rally Championships.
In 2021 he was forced out on technicalities just a day before the competition.
“Lack of an FIA-approved fuel tank smoked out my dream in 2021. The fuel tank arrived in the morning of the scrutineering so it could not be fixed in time,” he said.
