Kenya’s Jaspreet Chatthe clinched victory in the Oryx Energies Rally of Tanzania of 2014 to move to second place on the 2014 ARC standings.
The Mitsubish Lancer EVOX driver who was navigated by Zambia’s David Sihoka was won 10 out of the 15 competitive sections of the fourth round of the 2014 Africa Rally Championship that kicked off with a Super Special Stage (SSS) in Tazara.
“It is a great feeling winning a rally of the African Rally Championship as my first ever victory in my short career. It makes it even more satisfying to register victory outside my home,’’ said Jaspreet.
Less than 13 drivers out of 19 drivers that started the rally managed to complete with Ugandan rally ace Hajji Abdul Sempebwa amongst the finishers.
Sempebwa finished seventh overall but third in the ARC category thus earned his maiden points of the season.
Duncan ‘Kikankane’ Mubiru and Shafik Ssemujju were part of the causalities that failed to complete the event that also saw former champion Essa Mohammed and Rwanda’s Giancarlo Davite bow out before the final sections.
Ivory Coast’s Gary Chaynes who has so far completed all events once again earned points by finishing second in the ARC category thus maintained the lead at the log with 76 points. Chaynes said he had numerous problems but was glad to score valuable points to stay at the top of the table with four more rounds to go. The Mitsubishi Lancer EVOX driver almost failed to finish the rally after his car stalled with a broken fan belt after hitting a deep mud hole in one of the stages. The section was eventually cancelled as it became apparent the cars were not going to pass through the next time round.
The win takes Chatthe to second in the 2014 ARC standings with 58 points whilst Zambia’s Essa now sits third with 50 points.
Additional Reporting by ABDUL SIDI