The Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) is set for one of the most grueling events on October 8, thanks to the technical gravel roads of Il-Bisil, which hosts the seventh round of the 2023 season.
The Kenya Motor Sports Club (KMSC) round dubbed “KMSC Kajiado Rally” is renowned for its energy-sapping terrain that tests the KNRC drivers and cars to the limit and this year, the edition returns to the same route as last year.
Jasmeet Chana aka ‘Iceman’ heads to the KMSC leg leading the championship by a massive 84 points ahead of Jeremiah Wahome after scoring a much-needed podium in Mombasa last month.
Iceman hopes to repeat the feat in Bisil, which he feels is perhaps one of the toughest events of the nine-leg KNRC series. He will renew his rivalry with Ford Fiesta Rally 3 youngsters McRae Kimathi and Jeremiah Wahome.
Wahome is tipped as one of the favourites, having won two rounds so far in Machakos and Mombasa. Like Wahome, Jasmeet has two wins under his belt in Eldoret and Nakuru.
But Bisil is likely to be a momentous event for Iceman, who only needs to return his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X in fifth place to seal the deal. Bisil has proved to be a happy hunting ground for Iceman after scoring the much-needed podium last year.
Clerk of the Course, John Kamau, has singled out the event’s first stage—which is the longest—as the most challenging.
“The first stage will be rough on the cars, and navigators will need to be on top of their game.
"This very first stage (Il-Bisil 1) is a 60.43km run that ends at a quarry. So it will be quite dusty whilst the second stage (Marble 1/20.29km) will be quite interesting as it is doubling up as the Power Stage (Marble 2/20.29km).
"The latest deterioration of the road can make it quite rough for the crews,” Kamau expounded.
Kamau also named the Rally HQ and Service Park location as Kumpa, adding: “There will be a designated spectator zone with access that does not interfere with the rally stage and will allow spectators to see cars as they run the two loops.”
“As I call on spectators to show up in large numbers as they have not had much rallying action around Nairobi since the WRC, they must also follow instructions of the marshals for their own safety,” Kamau emphasised.
Meanwhile, the KNRC event will also feature a Clubman Rally category intended to bring in more entries as it will be a short event covering 50 percent of the entire route.
“It should be encouraging for people testing cars for events such as the Classic Rally. We have opened up the Clubman Rally to all drivers and vehicles with the exception of the RC2 and B13 classes. So we are looking forward to an interesting mix of entries for the KNRC,” said Kamau.
The Clubman Rally will run one loop of the repeated stages behind the KNRC vehicles.
The KNRC category will feature 161 km of competitive driving and a liaison distance of 55km for a total rally distance of 216 km. The rally starts and ends at Kumpa on October 8.
Scrutineering and documentation will take place at the KMSC Club House in South ‘C’ on October 7. Classic cars will be allowed to enter the 2WD class but can’t score in both classes, according to Kamau.
KNRC standings after Mombasa
1. Jasmeet. Chana 171 points
2. Jeremiah Wahome 87
3. McRae Kimathi 79
4. Kush Patel 66
5=Nikhil Sachania 44
5=Izhar Mirza 44
