•Karan has indicated that he's not going to alter his traditional flat-out approach which continues to endear him to rally fans across the African continent.
•If Mitsubishi's Chana finishes second and scores a point on the Power Stage, then it will be game over for Karan.
Image: HANDOUT
One year and three months have now passed since Karan Patel won his first Kenya National Rally Championship round in Voi.
But the Nairobi-based speedster seeks to win his maiden KNRC title in the KCB-sponsored season-closing Guru Nanak Rally which will start at Voi Wildlife Lodge and finish at Teita Estates on Sunday.
“I haven't really looked at the stages, but it's definitely not the same Voi that we did last year.
"From what I have heard, there are a lot of junctions and it's rough. If you are talking about my driving style, I'm more suited to tight corners and tight races as opposed to fast open roads.
"For me, if it's tight and twisty that's where I can prosper,” said Karan.
Karan has indicated that he's not going to alter his traditional flat-out approach which continues to endear him to rally fans across the African continent.
And having clinched six out of eight rounds ran so far, Karan is definitely going to throw absolute caution to the wind in order to take the much-needed victory —and most importantly—the coveted title away from series leader Jasmeet Chana.
Despite starting as favourite Karan faces a lot of pressure from Jamseet Chana. If Mitsubishi's Chana finishes second and scores a point on the Power Stage, then it will be game over for Karan.
Chana heads into the season-closing title decider 9- points clear of his race adversary Karan, with 30 points to play for and an additional maximum of three at stake on the Power Stage. Jasmeet currently tops the KNRC log with 209 against Karan's 200.
And no matter what anyone might think, Karan is exuding confidence despite the intricate nature of his homestretch battle with Chana.
"Voi is where we first won our first KNRC event and the strategy is the same, to win the event and secure the championship," narrates Karan.
Karan reckons that his experience in the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC), where he finished second behind Zambia’s Leroy Gomes is a good indication in terms of where he is in terms of continental competition.
Karan said: "With regards to the KNRC, I would say the entries could be better. We lost our top drivers like Baldev Chager and Carl Tundo who are on sabbatical and I don't know if they will come back for a proper race. In their absence, it's been just myself and Jasmeet, though I have won most of the races."
"Unfortunately, then we damaged our gearbox in the second last rally in Bamba, so that meant that we scored zero points, and because of that we fell behind him (Jasmeet) in the overall championship standings; but the rally after Bamba we took 11 points on him, so he is 9 ahead."
Jasmeet, on the other hand, has also laid down some clear targets and objectives as he heads into the decisive round.
He has indicated that he’ll remain positive and competitive, but candidly admits it's tighter after his lead was cut from 20 to 9 points in the penultimate Machakos round.
Crews in Voi will tackle a competitive run totaling 159.17km; of which, 70.91km will be liaison distance. Four stages will be repeated to make a competitive run of eight stages.
The repeat run of the Charcoal Stage (21.30km) will serve as the Power Stage where the fastest three drivers will earn additional 3-2-1 points on the championship log.
KNRC OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Drivers
1 Jasmeet Chana 209
2 Karan Patel 200
3 Kush Patel 86
4 Leo Varese 82
5 Maxine Wahome 74
6 Steve Mwangi 60
7 Carl Tundo 59
8 Hamza Anwar 47
9 Jeremiah Wahome 41
10 Nikhil Sachania 40