Pierro Cannobio wins MMC season-closing Rally on home-turf
Spurred on by home-ground advantage and a trouble- free Evolution 10 car, Pierro Cannobio was the star attraction in the season closing Mombasa Motor Club (MMC) Rally which came to a dramatic end in Kilifi County on Sunday.
Navigated by Sylvia Frigo, Pierro, a regular driver in the Kenya National Rally Championship, clocked 33.27minutes to emerge the victor in the six stage rally which treated spectators to some exhilarating displays of rallying artistry.
The 2WD 2012 Kenya Champion Nadeem Kana, driving an ex- Alasdair Keith Subaru GC8, was second, 2.28minutes behind the winner while Kilifi resident driver Janmohammed Abdullattif sealed the podium dash in a Subaru GC8. Janmohammed aka Jani was navigated by his wife Khadijah who was overly fascinated by the cockpit craze on her debut rally.
The Kilifi tour brought down the curtains to what was a busy season for MMC members which included the momentous KCB KNRC round which was Kenya’s maiden “carbon neutral rally” at the expansive Rukinga Ranch in Voi, the National Autocross Championship event plus several other monthly events which have kept club competitors and crews busy right from mid January 2015.
The roads in Kilifi were excellent and the event well organised by Roy McKenzie and his team of marshalls and controllers. Time keepers were placed well at designated points. Competitive stages were a perfect mix of a little bit of rough and smooth. There were amazing jumps and spectacular hairpin bends that kept crews on their toes.
Kilifi spectators had a bonus as they witnessed a good humoured rivalry pitting Coast Pekee siblings Izhar against Adil. Unfortunately, Izhar aka Izzy bowed out of the rally with serious overheating problems.
“The engine started overheating at the end of CS1, then we drove slowly to TC2 start where we retired,” said Izhar.
Yusuf Pasta in an ex-Hakuuz N10 also kissed the Kilifi tour goodbye with a broken gearbox.
“We were nearly setting the quickest stage time on that stage (CS8) when the gearbox broke. But we’ll rebuild it and return another day,” said Pasta.
Adil navigated by Adnan Din of Coast Brakes did the first stage in 7.59 minutes, 9 seconds slower than Izhar while Pierro cleared it in 8.18minutes.
Thumb’s Rally Team’s Nadeem savoured his maiden podium in an MMC event
He said: “It was truly an amazing event for me and my team including navigator Julius Mwachuya and ardent supporter Abu Karuga. I must admit at this juncture Roy MacKenzie and his team did a great job organising the event offering us an amazing Scandinavian type of route. For me, it’s time to revamp my rally car to fully prepare it for 2017. I’ll truly miss the KNRC family especially my regular navigator James Harrison Mwangi who supported me all the way.”
Mzee Khalid, father of former 2WD contender Naveed Khalid (now in the UK) said: “I sat with new navigator Hussein Khanbhai and it wasn’t easy to synchronize as it was his first outing! We then landed in a ditch, took a wrong slot and almost ended up in a hut. Towards the end of CS9 our gearbox packed and we limped to the finish though we didn’t lose so much time. I’m happy we managed to finish fourth.”
Results
1. Pierro Cannobio/Sylvia Frigo (EVOX) 33.27
2. Nadeem Kana/Julius Mwachuya (Sibaru GC8) 35.55
3. Janmohammed Latiff/Khadijah Janmohammed (Subaru GC8) 38.21
4. Mzee Khalid Yusuf/ (Toyota Levin) 39.35
5. Amaar Bushy Haq/Ahmed Musa (Subaru) 48.18
Casualties
-Izhar Mirza -Overheating
-Yusuf Pasta-Broken gearbox
-Adil Mirza- Electrical