Dharam Pandya steers his car during a recent edition of the National Rally Championship. Photo | file
What you need to know:
Tufail has joined compatriot Dharam Pandya, who was the first to confirm participation in the event
Dar es Salaam. The 2018 National Rally Championship (NRC) first runner driver, Tufail Tufail, has set sights on competing in the revived Kenya Safari Rally scheduled to start from July 4 to 7 in Kenya.
Tufail has joined compatriot Dharam Pandya, who was the first to confirm participation in the event. Tufail, who finished behind Ahmed Huwel in last year’s event, is now second in the 2019 NRC standings with 40 points.
He scored 15 points during the first edition of NRC before finishing in the first position in the Kilimanjaro Motorsport rally to collect 25 points. Randeep Singh is leading the NRC with 43 points. Speaking with The Citizen, Tufail said his target is to counter different challenges in the game. He said Kenya Safari Rally is the World Rally Championships (WRC) Candidate event and he hopes prominent drivers will compete.
“As a driver, I need to face different challenges in the game. It is where you can evaluate yourself. I believe, the Kenyan event will give me the right direction of my career,” said Tufail.
Meanwhile, Michelle Mouton, a safety delegate to the International Federation of Automobile (FIA) continues to evaluate the proposed routes of the 2019 WRC event in various parts of Kenya.
Mouton said the 4.5km circuit is good with “possibilities of hosting a World Rally Championship event.”
The work continues as her proposed changes to make the circuit more competitive and safe will be implemented in readiness for the 2019 Safari Rally. The circuit, according to its designer, Anthony Gatei, who is also the Service Park Manager, will have parallel routes for drivers to race side by side. An inter-change and pavilion will be added and tight corners banked with soil for safety purposes. WRC Safari will be shortened to around 500km spread over three days, it must remain hard work for the current crop of sprinters.
