It is down to the wire between Neel Gohil and Brandon Nganga for the 10th and final round of the KCB Kenya National Autocross Championship which returns to Jamhuri Park racetrack this Sunday.
Neel currently sits second on the Two Wheel Drive Non-Turbo Junior Class log, incidentally 5 points behind Ng'ang'a and not letting the championship slip through his grasp in Sunday's showdown.
Neel candidly admits that it has been tough to catch up on points after missing Round 4 event which he couldn’t honor due to an urgent family commitment and had to travel out of town.
Ng'ang'a, who also joined the sport this year, currently tops the Junior log with 159 after nine races and five wins to boot.
Neel, on the other hand, has four wins despite skipping a round earlier this year.
Here is what Neel said of his homestretch tussle with Ng'ang'a: "We will do our best and go all out for a win and FTD (Fastest Time of the Day) at Jamhuri to cover the 5- point difference. I’m aware it’s the last round and this is going to be tough with the championship at stake. All in all, the game plan is to drive for a win.The buggy should be ready by Friday. And should all go well, we will fight to rack up the win at Jamhuri, and if not, as a team, we will be glad that we gave it out all and did not let the championship go easy in our first year of racing, It’s been a fantastic Autocross season despite the challenges that COVID-19 presented earlier in the year, but thanks to KCB and the organisers, I have really had a great season of learning and meeting some great personalities who have all mentored me in some way or the other.. Special thanks to my lead sponsors Salomon Kenya for supporting me throughout the 2021 season."
In another development, Duma Racing Team's Yuvraj Rajput will be debuting his 2WD Junior Non Turbo buggy at round 10 on Sunday after securing his second championship in the Bambino Class at Twisty Corners.
Although Yuvraj, son of outgoing Open Class Champion Kirit Rajput, will not score any points towards Sunday's race meeting, he intends to use this as a practice drive to see how far he can push the championship-winning buggy previously driven by Rajveer Thethy. Yuvraj's sister Kiana Rajput just needs to enter the last round this weekend to seal her first championship title in the Pee Wee Class, and thereafter will be graduating to her brothers championship winning buggy in the Bambino Class for the 2022 season.
Zameer Verjee, who sealed the Two Wheel Drive Non-Turbo buggy title after Round 8 in Nanyuki, has also signed up for Sunday's race and so Is the newly-crowned Quad Class Champion Gurraj Singh.
Double championship winner
Lovejyot Singh aka LJ sealed the Two Wheel Drive Turbo and Four Wheel Drive Turbo titles at Twisty Corners, and will be back in the saddle for more points at stake in the season-closer.
Meanwhile, Two Wheel Drive Non-Turbo Car leader Rajveer Thethy and Sam Karangata will also fight for the coveted title on homestretch.
Their lead has swapped over a number of times and currently the gap is at 9 points. between them. At the VCCCK round at Jamhuri Park, Karangata came really close to a win with a gap of a mere 0.079 seconds after technical issues with his brakes and a tyre blow out.
'With all issues sorted ,we are looking forward to enjoying the final event of the season at Jamhuri for the third time this year. It has been great to see many new drivers in the 2WD class this year. Azfar Malik is already a podium mainstay in his rear-wheel drive Toyota Levin. Thanks to KCB for keeping the Championship alive and growing." Karangata said.
KCB KENYA NATIONAL AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 STANDINGS AFTER RD 9 - TWISTY CORNERS
CLASS 1 - 2WD NON TURBO BUGGY
1. Zameer Verjee 177
2. Ankush Manoj Shah 129
3. Gurraj Singh 119
4. Qahir Rahim 118
5. Rahul Patel 76
CLASS 1 - 2WD NON TURBO CAR
1. Rajveer Thethy 179
2. Sam Karangatha 170
3. Sameer Nanji 91
4. Azfar AbdulMal 56
5. Ahil Khan 54
CLASS 3 - 2WD TURBO BUGGY
1. Loveyjot Singh 146
2. Pabhjeet Sagoo 123
3. Shaz Ismail 121
4. Azaad Manji 110
5. Deepal Shah 96
CLASS 6- 4WD TURBO
1. Loveyjot Singh 163
2. Eric Bengi 137
3. Sahib Omar 115
4. Murage Waigwa 54
5. William Karobai 37
CLASS 7 - OPEN
1. Hamza Anwar 164
2. Asad Khan 136
3. Maxine Wahome 118
5. Kirit Rajput 100
CLASS 8 - QUAD
1. Gurraj Singh 152
2. Wayne Fernandes122
CLASS 9 - BAMBINO
1. Yuvraj Rajput 188
2. Karamveer Singh Rooprai 153
3. Amaan Altaf Ganatra 22
4. Jairaj Jutley 17
5. John Jessel 15
6. Billy Tundo 15
CLASS 10- JUNIOR 2WD NON TURBO
1. Brandon Ng'ang'a 159
2. Neel Gohil 154
3. Amaraj Malle 45
4. Hanifa Yakub 32
CLASS 11- PEEWEE
1. Kiana Rajput 141
2. Eann Bengi 59
