Despite having no earlier intentions to take on the Africa Rally Championship (ARC) series, Manvir Baryan is now trapped in completing the rest of the season following his current performance.
The Kenyan moved closer to his maiden ARC title after registering a second straight win in Tanzania.
Baryan and his co-driver Drew Sturrock overcame the tight challenge on day one of the fifth round in Bagamoyo as they cruised to victory on day two with a 6 minutes and 17 seconds lead over Tanzania’s Ahmed Huwel.
“The competition was truly tight especially on day one. Day two would have been tighter had Chatthe stayed in the race. But I enjoyed racing against everyone, they made the event more exciting through out,” says Baryan.
Baryan and Sturrock now extend their ARC points tally to 65; twelve points ahead of Zambia’s Leroy Gomes.
The Kenyan will have to stay on course in his title chase. In order to win the championship, Baryan will have to cover all the regions (South and North regions) as required in the ARC rules. Rwanda and Zambia Rally are the remaining events on ARC.
“Tanzania was to determine our continuation on ARC. After getting the maximum points, we are left with no option but to go for the remaining events.
“We now switch focus to Rwanda and hope to get the best from there before Zambia,” he told Kawowo Sports.
Rwanda Mountain Gorilla rally is scheduled for 8-10 September.
ARC top five Drivers’ standings
1. Manvir Baryan(Kenya) 65points
2. Leroy Gomes(Zambia) 53
3. Kleevan Gomes(Zambia) 38
4. Christakis Fitidis(Uganda) 36
5. Jaspreet Chatthe(Kenya) 28
Co-drivers’ standings
1. Drew Sturrock(Scotland) 65points
2. Urshlla Gomes(Zambia) 53
3. Riyaz Latife(Zambia) 37
4. Eric Nzamwita(Rwanda) 36
5. Gurdeep Panaser(Kenya) 28