Autocross youngsters Rajveer Thethy and Sameer Nanji are set to make their Kenya National Rally Championship debuts in KCB Guru Nanak Rally as the 2021 season comes to end in Il-Bissell on Sunday.
Rajveer (18) will team up with immediate former autocross quad class champion Wayne Fernandes in a Subaru Impreza N10 while Nanji will partner with Zaib Azhar in his VW Golf 2WD car.
The two drivers, under the ‘R&S Racing’ banner are seeking to make a mark, owing to the experience and knowledge gained from the KNRC circuit.
Fernandes, who is also the immediate former KNRC 2WD navigators’ champion with Daren Miranda, praised the 'new kids on the block'.
“I sat with Rajveer for practice and I must admit he is in a class of his own. He was also quick on understanding pace notes. We managed to write our own notes and put them to the test. I’m confident he would improve his approach into turns and straights," said Fernandez.
"It was a good feeling to sit in a rally car again after a long while. The last rally I did was with Daren in Machakos. I am looking forward to this weekend's Guru Nanak Rally.”
Rajveer is a three-time autocross champion in a 2wd buggy. He is now moving classes to turbo in KNRC and Open in autocross.
R&S Racing team ran a performance test in Naivasha at the weekend as their final phase towards the Sikh Union organized event got off to a scintillating start. The autocross series has over the years served as a stepping stone to the gigantic KNRC.
Rajveer started off his autocross career at the age of 12 and has since won three championships. He is now on the cusp of greater things as he seeks his fourth title next season.
Rajveer won the autocross junior championship twice in a row in 2015 and 2016 before claiming the 2021 autocross 2WD non-turbo car class championship in a Daewoo Cielo.
Nanji, on the other hand, started off his career with go-karts and later moved on to autocross where he has savored pushing his VW Golf GTI 2WD to the limits.
Rajveer said: “It’s really is a dream come true for me that I have been racing two-wheel drives in circuit events and now I’m here to try and follow in my father’s footsteps.”
The third-year Bcom student at Strathmore University acknowledged that making his debut in a new car and indeed on a surface he has never experienced would be challenging but fun to drive.
Champion Baldev Chager and leader Carl Tundo will fight for the KNRC overall title in the season-ending Guru Nanak event.
