Rally legend Ian Duncan yesterday unveiled a new car, a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EVOX, ahead of tomorrow’s KCB Safari Rally. This will see the six-time former national champion run in the ongoing 2015 Kenya National Rally Championship with Liquid Petroleum as his title sponsors.
What’s more, yesterday’s launch saw the rallying legend, who won the Safari Rally in 1994, when it counted towards the World Rally Championship, switch from the Nissan Patrol and pick-up that saw him exit the season-opening Kisumu Rally. “It looks really good, but then there is a lot of ‘Kenyanisation’ that needs to be done to the car, things like suspensions, sump-guard and cooling all need to be sorted. But we are quite excited that this is the next step from the EVO9 which we have run for four years,” said Duncan.
“We hope we can get a good result out of the new car. It’s the first rally so we expect a few teething problems, but hopefully we can get them sorted. The Safari Rally is a long event so I think it’s going to be a lot more of an endurance event,” he added. The sponsorship is the first step in Liquid Telecom’s commitment to transforming the motor sport in Kenya and Africa.
They hope to achieve that by adding value and quality for the organisers, competitors, spectators, and enthusiasts who comprise the growing motor sport community, through the use of technology and connectivity. The KCB Safari, which has reverted to its former identity that once elicited immense excitement among followers over Easter weekend, will be flagged off at KICC tomorrow.
The event has also made a sharp about-turn – after being identified as sprint event in recent years, it’s now more of an endurance run akin to that of the 1970s when drivers tackled lengthy route courses. This year’s event is no different from the long-distance aspect as crews have the enviable task of covering some mind-boggling mileage in an event that will traverse five counties including Nairobi, Kiambu, Laikipia, Meru and Machakos. For this impending battle between man and machine, several roadside service stops have been introduced ostensibly because the mileage is bigger.