The weekend Safari Rally is going to be a hotly contested affair for the Kenya National Rally Championship contenders.
The rally is the second round of the KNRC and ARC championship.
Being an international event, crews will score more points than in other KNRC rounds.
The 2018 KNRC season opener that took course in February saw Kabras Rally Team dominate with Onkar Rai and Gareth Dawe claiming victory; team mate Baldev Charger was second followed by Carl Tundo in third.
However, the championship rivalry could take a new shift this weekend.
Onkar Rai/Gareth Dawe – Skoda Fabia R5
Onkar Rai will definitely be up for a tight fight for the Safari Rally top position as he seeks to stay top of the standings.
The Kabras Rally Team crew will be keen on a repeat of their earlier performance in Nakuru.
Baldev Chager/Ravi Soni – Mitsubishi Evo X
Chager will not only target the championship points but also his third Safari Rally win. So close to victory in Nakuru, Chager will be keen to get his pace a notch higher this time round.
Manvir Baryan/Drew Sturrock – Skoda Fabia R5
The Multiple Rally Team have a point prove this weekend with the top finish in Safari Rally.
2017 Kenya Motorsport Personality of the Year as well as reigning ARC champion, Baryan will have to maintain the status quo by putting up a tight fight for the Safari Rally coveted win.
Carl Tundo/Tim Jessop – Mitsubishi Evo X
Tundo is another one expected to put up a fight.
Besides chasing for the championship points, Tundo could be eying his fourth Safari Rally victory.
Jaspreet Chatthe/James Morgan – Mitsubishi Evo X
Chatthe will have all the reasons to target the Safari Rally victory.
The former KNRC and ARC champion has won Safari Rally twice, but only when it was just a KNRC round without portraying the ARC status.
But now as a recognised international event, Chatthe may wish to go in the books of the ARC Safari Rally winners.
Karan Patel/James Mwangi – Mitsubishi Evo X
Only a top position will console Karan Patel from the KNRC season opener’s misfortunes that came after a series of mechanical issues.
Patel finished fifth overall last year. He will have to further prove his pace by breaking the Safari Rally tight competition.
The battle for the KNRC points will also go down in the Division One class.
A solid finish in Safari Rally will maintain Jasmeet Chana at the top of the class standings.
Eric Bengi, Aakif Virani and others will all e up for the division one battle.
Meanwhile, Division Two will have Amaar Hagi, Issa Amwari, Sohanjeet Puee, Osman Abdullah and others bid for the class points.