DAR ES Salaam based driver, Randeep Birdi and the reigning Uganda National Champion Yassin Nasser are the only Tanzanians signed up for the revived East African Rally Championship [EARC].
Birdi, who has won countless national and continental rally titles will be parading his driving skills in Mitsubishi Evo 9 joining the Uganda-based country mate in the two-day event to be held in the Kenyan soil on February 8th and 9th this year.
Sadly no driver from Kilimanjaro and Arusha, has shown interest to compete in the regional level rally despite the regions being situated about 100 kilometres south of Athi River, the main venue of the twoday rally.
The revived EARC will be ideal for Arusha-based Gurpal Sandhu or Gurjit Dhani, Ajminder Singh and Rajpar Dhani from Moshi, Kilimanjaro.
In addressing the setback, the President of the Automobile Association of Tanzania(AAT), Nizar Jivani has been frequently blaming financial crisis as a major source of the setback.
The prestigious event which goes as Guru Nanak Rally, will serve as the first round of the regional championship slated for Stony Athi on the weekend of February 8-9.
Nasser who is sponsored by Mansur Oil of Tanzania will be navigated by Ally Katumba.
Speaking from Uganda, Nasser said by going to Kenya, he was forced to abandon Mbarara Rally of Uganda which will rev off on February 14th this year. Nasser said they have prioritised the EARC ostensibly to pursue valuable points.
“We have decided to pull out of Mbarara Rally since we will have limited time for preparations. Logistics to Mbarara City will also be a mission impossible after our participation in Kenya,” explained his navigator Katumba.
The East African Rally Championship will rev off in Kenya next week then head to Rwanda on May 16- 17, Uganda on August 15- 16, Tanzania on September 19-20 and Burundi on the weekend of October 17-18.
Drivers hoping to take part in the new regional series must meet the 80pc threshold of entering four events with the closing round in Burundi being mandatory.
According to KMSF General Manager Mwaura Njoroge entry fees for foreign crews entering any of the five EARC events will be waived in order to encourage and cut down on the visitors’ costs.
What’s more, the top three finishers of the EARC will be feted during the closing round in Burundi. The East African Rally Championship is being revived after being defunct for a period spanning over a decade.
Zimbabwe oldies Jamie Whyte and Phil Archenoul were the last to lay hands on the coveted trophy before it got defunct.
The new regional series was formed with the support of Rwanda Automobile Club, Club Automobile du Burundi, Federation of Motorsports of Uganda (FMU), Kenya Motorsports Federation (KMSF) and Automobile Association of Tanzania (AA of Tanzania) respectively.
