Overjoyed 'Flying Sikh' Chager Wraps Dramatic Safari Rally Triumph
7th July 2019
New champion is looking forward to race in the World Rally Championship next year after securing his third title at the Candide Event ARC showdown
- Hot favourites Carl 'Flash' Tundo who came in as the titleholder, speed master Manvir Baryan and Onkar Rai all looked headed for victory as the event wound up day three of absorbing action
- The winner entered the annals of Kenyan history where the performance of Sikh drivers is admired, led by the legendary Joginder Singh pioneer winner of the Safari in 1965 and in ’74 and ’76
- Nzioka Waita, the Chief of Staff, Office of the President making a comeback to the sport after almost over a decade, also finished the rally in the 26th place, at the wheels of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX with Laban Cliff Onserio as his navigator
NAIVASHA, Kenya- 'Flying Sikh' Baldev Singh Chager is looking forward to race in the World Rally Championship (WRC) next year after winning the grabbing victory in the 2019 Safari Rally at the death on Sunday in Naivasha in a dramatic end to the premier motor sport showdown.
Hot favourites Carl 'Flash' Tundo who came in as the titleholder, speed master Manvir Baryan and Onkar Rai all looked headed for victory as the event wound up day three of absorbing.
But Chager, who had previously won only a single stage in the fourth round of the Africa Rally Championship (ARC) reeled his rivals in to clinch the coveted crown for a third time in his chequered career at Kedong, Naivasha.
The 2019 success will rank as his sweetest since this years Safari was a test event for Kenya's return to the WRC next year, having stayed out of the elite global circuit since October 2002.
African champion, Baryan held a 35 second lead most of the final stage before stopping with mechanical failure, was passed by two cars before resuming but it was too late having overturned the overnight lead held by Tundo who was chasing a sixth crown.
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Because of his huge stall, Baryan ended up classified sixth and Chager thus reveled in stunning Safari victory.
The winner entered the annals of Kenyan history where the performance of Sikh drivers is admired, led by the legendary Joginder Singh pioneer winner of the Safari in 1965 and in ’74 and ’76.
Chager and his co-driver Ravi Soni literally nursed their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X out trouble to romp home to a famous win; binding their time to benefit from Baryan’s misfortune in the last remaining few kilometers of the rally.
“I'm overjoyed to win. It was a tough battle. One of the most tense and tough event in my rallying career. Make no mistake, I was in this to fight for the outright win.”
Despite ruling the ARC for the past two years, Baryan is yet to win the title of his coveted signature home event and he could not hide his disappointment at blowing away a chance to end his Safari drought.
Temperature gauge
“That stage was pathetic and should not have been allowed. Our car sucked in lots of dust until the radiator was blocked. The temperature gauge was reading 130 degrees. We lost over six minutes to clean it by then two cars had overtaken us. No happy at all,” the African champion.
Tundo who missed out on adding to his five victories finished in the second place navigated by his long term co driver, Tim Jessop in another Evo X as Mitsubishi clinched the Safari 1-2.
The Flash admitted they were lucky despite several mishaps, which included losing 20 seconds in the final service.
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Another title favourite, Rai rolled in the second competitive stage of the event while lying in second overall in his Skoda Fabia. This was his second consecutive accident in the Safari after having a similar problem in last year’s event.
Though his navigator Gareth Dawe was admitted to the hospital with back injuries after the crash, the pair were lucky to walk away from the accident with the lives as their state of the art machine suffered extensive damage.
“We hit couple of bumps at very high speeds before the car nose-dived and rolled. We were lucky there were no injuries but our luck in the Safari seems not improve,’’ said Rai while watching the cars check in at the final TC.
Carl Tundo and navigator Tim Jessop's car pictured in the closing stages of the 2019 Safari Rally in Naivasha on Sunday, July 7, 2019. PHOTO/Courtesy
Izhar Mirza and Kavir Dave also escaped serious injuries after their Mitsubishi Evo rolled in the second stage of Day Three.
Ian Duncan, the last Kenyan driver to win the Safari Rally when it was part of the WRC, finished fourth place in yet another Evo X navigated by Anthony Nielsen. Duncan is a multiple Kenya National Rally Champion.
Foreign entries, Leroy Gomes/Ushlla Gomes (Zambia/Ford Fiesta), Jassy Singh/Sajid Khan (Zambia/ Subaru Impreza), Giancarlo Devine/Sylvia Vindevogel (Rwanda/Evo X), Yassin Nasser/Ali Katumba (Uganda/Subaru Impreza) posted commendable top 10 finishing in the grueling event.
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The Safari is vying for full WRC status and was being observed by some of the most senior officials from the world motor sports body, FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) led by safety delegate Michelle Mouton, herself an ex-Safari Rally ace, and a barrage of other delegates alongside the contracted WRC Promoter business outfit.
Penultimate service
Geoff Mayes limped into the penultimate service point of the rally with a damaged clutch in his Land Rover. The mechanics worked on it to get it right for the final two stages.
At 24 years of age, McRae Kimathi was the youngest driver to finish the rally in the 21st place with Evan Mwenda as his navigator in a Subaru Impreza. McRae is the son of Phineas Kimathi, the chief executive officer of the WRC Safari Rally Project.
Norris Ongalo, the Chief Safety Officer in the list of the senior organizers of the 2019 Safari Rally, said he was happy with the performance of his officials in the event over the past three days of the competition. Most of the marshals were graduates of the Abdul Sidi Rally Academy.
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"I had 275 officials deployed alongside each and every stage of the rally. The list was always divided by three according to the number of stages run on the day. Safety is paramount,’’ said Norris, who is the graduate from the Abdul Sidi Rally Academy.
Nzioka Waita, the Chief of Staff, Office of the President making a comeback to the sport after almost over a decade, also finished the rally in the 26th place, at the wheels of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX with Laban Cliff Onserio as his navigator.
Provisional Results
1 Baldev Chager/Ravi Soni (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10) 164.30.
2 Carl Tundo/Tim Jessop (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10) 165.23.6
3 Manvir Baryan/Drew Sturrock (Kenya/Skoda Fabia)276.23.8
4 Ian Duncan/Anthony Nielson (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10) 179.28.4
5 Leroy Gomes/U rshlla Gomes (Zambia/Ford Fiesta) 186.08.6
6 Jassy Singh/Sajid Khan (Zambia/ Subaru Impreza) 186.48.7
7 Giancarlo Devine/Sylvia Vindevogel (Rwanda/Mitsubishi Lancer) 190.38.7
8 Tejvir Rai/Gavin Laurence (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10) 191.31.6
9 Yassin Nasser/Ali Katumba (Uganda/Subaru Impreza) 198.26.2
10 Mahesh Halai/Ketan Halai (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer) Evo10) 204.24.1
11 Karan Patel/James Mwangi (Kenya/Subaru Impreza) 208.59.9
12 Jasmeet Chana/Ravi Chana (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer) 210.38.2
13 Duncan Mubiru/Musa Nsubuga (Uganda/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10) 218.34.4
14 John Ng’ang’a/Denus Mwanda (Kenya/Subaru Impreza) 223.46.22
15 Hussein Malik/Linet Ayuko (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10) 224.48.3
16 Nikhil Sachania/Deep Patel (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10)
17 Sohanjeet Puee/Adnan Din (Kenya/Subaru Impreza N10)
18 Minesh Rathod/Shameer Yusuf (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10)
19 Geoff Mayes/ Suzanna Zwager (Land Rover)
20 Lyimo Emmanuel/Ali Mustafa (Tanzania/Subaru Impreza)
21 McRae Kimathi/Evan Mwenda (Kenya/Subaru Impreza)
22 Issa Amwari/Job Njiru (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10)
23 David Kioni/Henry Nyoike (Kenya/Subaru Impreza)
24 Waita Nzioka/Laban Cliff (Kenya/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9)
25 Jonathan Somen/Richard Hechle (Kenya/Ford Escort Mark11)
26 Christakis Fitidis/Veer Dadar (Tanzania/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10)
27 Ken Nteere/Edward Ndukui (Kenya/Subaru Impreza)
Jassy Singh and navigator Sajid Khan's car pictured in the closing stages of the 2019 Safari Rally in Naivasha on Sunday, July 7, 2019. PHOTO/Courtesy