Defending Champion Sahib Omar celebrated his 35th birthday with victory in the KCB Nanyuki Autocross 7 which culminated at the Batian View racetrack today.
The birthday boy had his campaign effectively sewn up when his closest race adversary Eric Bengi failed to match his heats times.
Nanyuki victory went down as Sahib’s third of the season after his previous two at Jamhuri Park racetrack in Nairobi.
The Ray Racing driver also savored back-to-back success after a strong win at Jamhuri Park last month.
Driving a Subaru Impreza GC8, Sahib ran quickest in the early morning practice loop in which he beat Bengi by 3 milliseconds.
Sahib was 2 seconds faster than Bengi in the second heat and again 5 milliseconds quicker than him in the penultimate heat.
Sahib also bagged two Championship bonus points after setting the Fastest Time of the Day (FTD) in the second heat which he cleared in 1.54.72minutes.
“It’s such a great feeling winning in Nanyuki on my 35th birthday. The track was very slippery in the morning but dried out as the race wore on. All in all, a ver
y fast track,” said Sahib.
The 4WD log leader Lovejyot Singh failed in his bid to fight the top two after he suffered a few gremlins.
“The track was too fast, and we were losing power for the better part of the race due to high altitude,” Lovejyot.
Yuvraj Rajput emerged the winner in the Bambino Class beating round six winner Karanveer Singh Rooprai.
Hamza Anwar won the Open Class beating his dad Asad Anwar to the title.
Bambino Class also welcomed two Nanyuki twins in John and Joline Jessel.
John and his sister Joline are grandchildren of the 2010 Rally Raid Car Class Champion Sammy Jessel.
Sam Karangatha registered his third of the season in the Two Wheel Drive Non-Turbo Car Class beating his rival Rajveer Thethy.
Driving a Subaru Leon, Karangatha survived early morning practice scares to pull through in subsequent official heats.
“My car stopped in the practice loop and had to be towed off the track when we experienced a myriad of electrical issues. My mechanics fixed the problem in record time and I was able to run trouble free for four heats.
Rally action shifts to Nanyuki next Saturday.