The second round of the Africa Rally Championship; the Equator Rally got underway on Friday with the qualifying stage in Voi.
Karan Patel and Tauseef Khan; the defending winners of the event hinted at their likely contention for the weekend when they posted the fastest time in the qualifying stage.
Patel in the Ford Fiesta was quickest through the 5km stage posting three minutes and 47 seconds on the time board.
The Kenyan crew will now lead the pack into day one of the Equator on Saturday.
“The competition is here, but maybe I will not be forced to dig in my reserves for energy. So I will just have a comfortable ride and do my best,” said Patel.
Hamza Anwar posted the second fastest and he will start car number two on road in his Ford Fiesta rally3 followed by counterpart Jeremiah Wahome.
Uganda’s Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba will start fourth with Asad Anwar and Pierro Cannobio trailing them.
Two incidents were registered in the qualifying stage with Aakif Virani crashing his car into a tree on the stage while Uganda’s Mangat broke a suspension.
It is reported that the two crews have fixed the cars and are all set for the start of the event on Saturday.
Eight stages with a total distance of 159.64 kilometers will be covered on day one in Voi.