KCB Micro Banking Rally opens Kenya rally season
author: Article sourced and compiled by Andries vd Walt
Nyeri residents welcome rally action after six years since Nanyuki Rally's spectator stage ran at the town centre drawing thousands of spectators. But the last time full action was witnessed in Nyeri was three decades ago. Rai sibblings Onkar and Tejvir are psyched up. They are working round the clock along with their mentor Baldev Singh Chager at the BHP Performance workshop.
Onkar won the KNRC Division Two last season and is looking forward to his debut in the Division One which is the seniormost league. Oilibya Racing's Charles Hinga will also be hoping a good run after achieving some top 10 finishes last year. Top drivers expected in Nyeri are Alastair Cavenagh, Ian Duncan, Carl Tundo, Horsey siblings Peter and Alex. The Rally will flagged off outside the KCB Nyeri branch on Saturday at 2pm followed by the spectator stage at Ruringu from 3pm. The rally restarts on Sunday 6.30am at the Green Hills Hotel's parc ferme and heads towards Mathira and Aberdares areas.
On Sunday, drivers will repeat the Ruringu spectator stage twice. The Rally finishes at Ruringu which plays host to the service park as well. As Nyeri awaits to raise the first 2012 dust, organizers RSC have indeed called upon spectators to respect directions given to them by marshals. "The Rally is compact and of course the terrain is very twisty. The route is extremely fast and short so we expect spectators to exercise triple caution in as far as safety issue are concerned," said clerk of the course Newton Njiru.
From this season on, the 2WD class which has in the past ran a maximum of 80kilometers, will now do the full rally same as the KNRC cars. The Specially Prepared Vehicle (SPV) class has now been merged with the Group S and will be known as the KCB Group S Championship. The Rallies Commission of KMSF under chairman Abdul Sidi has also re-introduced a low budget class called Clubmans Rally Championship. The Clubmans event will run a maximum of 80kilometers without service.
Meanwhile, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has renewed its sponsorship for the 2012 rally season setting the platform to this weekend's high octane action in Nyeri. The Bank's Head of Micro Banking Simon Kariuki confirmed a Ksh. 36 million sponsorship for the 2012 Kenya National Rally Championship. "As we launch this year championship we are delighted to also announce the renewal of our sponsorship to the tune of Ksh. 36 million. The funding will go towards facilitating the KMSF in hosting rallies throughout the season," said Kariuki.
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