Cabinet Secretary for Sports Amina Mohamed has hailed FIA Rally Star youngsters for their encouraging performance in the African Rally Championship Equator Rally that concluded in Naivasha on Sunday.
The CS pledged support to the quartet of Jeremy Wahome, McRae Kimathi, Hamza Anwar and Maxine Wahome, all of whom finished the two-day event in the top ten.
Amina also praised 19-year-old Fly540 Racing Team prodigy, Rio Smith, for being among the top ten finishers in the continental showpiece.
Jeremy was the best-placed young driver in fourth behind compatriot Jasmeet Chana, who sealed a podium finish alongside champion Karan Patel and second-placed Leroy Gomes of Zambia.
Hamza surprised all and sundry in the early morning speed test at Loldia where he set the quickest stage time ahead of Gomes and Patel.
Speaking during the Ceremonial Finish, CS Amina said: “Congratulations to the young drivers. They have all our support and we are very proud of them. We are really indebted to them. From this event, they have shown us what real talent is all about.”
“They have also shown us what resilience is all about. Some of them retired yesterday (Saturday) and restarted the rally today (Sunday) on a very high note under the Super Rally rule. I think we picked a winning team and that’s the squad we are going forward with,” said Amina.
The CS also lauded Kimathi for his WRC 3 podium in WRC Rally Sweden where he also finished fourth in the Junior WRC.
“It’s the first time ever that a Kenyan has completed an all-snow fixture in Europe. I think we have placed our bets correctly and we wish them well,” added Amina while hinting there will be more local entries in the WRC Safari Rally in June.
“From the lessons we learnt last year, this year’s Safari Rally will be much bigger and better.”
