2010 Kenyan National Cross Country Champion Nish Lakhani heads to this weekends final round, based at Masinga Dam, knowing that a top five finish will secure him his second consecutive title in the popular series. Nish will be hoping that development work done to his modified V8 Landrover (nicknamed the Kenya Cat) will have cured the minor reliability issues that plagued him last time out.
After winning the 2010 title at the wheel of a near standard Toyota Landcruiser Nish, who runs the SunTrek Safari operation, upgraded to the ex Piers Daykin Landrover for 2011. A debut win was promising but since then navigational and mechanical gremlins have restricted the reigning champion to a sixth and third overall in the last two events. Nish was actually leading the previous round, held in the foothills of Mount Kenya, until fuel issues cost him dearly right near the end and he finished third, less than 40 seconds behind the leader! Nish; 2011 has so far been a mixed season for me. The new car is definitely the most powerful thing I’ve raced and Simon Sharpe Services have done a fantastic job on it! This weekend we only need a top five to take the title but I’m a competitive man and so our tactics might change on the day!
This weekends event is based at the Masinga Resort, in the Embu region, and is organized by the Rallye Sports Club. The opening leg is due to begin at 2pm on Saturday 3 September and consists of a single leg across varied terrain to the overnight halt. Leg 2 takes place on Sunday and the surviving competitors are expected to finish at approximately 1pm.
Photo courtesy of Mayes Media
