Jasmeet Chana confident of a good showing as WRC Safari Rally nears – KBC

Kenya National Rally Championship, KNRC, Premier Class driver Jasmeet Chana aka “Iceman” is confident of putting up a great showing in the forthcoming World Rally Championship, WRC Safari rally slated for June 24^th-27^th in Naivasha.

The multiple KNRC category champion expects a trouble-free run given the nature of the situation at their CRS Racing Workshop in Nairobi’s Parklands.

“It’s been really hectic. We will soon begin to put final touches to our preparations,” he said.

Chana is putting his best foot forward saying looks forward to holding his own among the World’s  best drivers.

Chana also reveals that he will concentrate more on having a really good recce so that his pace notes are as good as they can possibly be.

This will be Chana’s first WRC Safari as a driver considering that he has also participated in global editions of the event as a service crew for Toyota Team Europe (TTE).

Since the ARC Equator Rally in April, Chana has been working to ensure his car is compliant with the FIA specifications.

“We have had an FIA approved FT3 fuel tank fitted in our boot. Basically, the car is a Group N, which is compliant with FIA specifications. We should be good to go in a few days before testing.”

Chana will use the same Evo 10 he drove on the Equator Rally navigated by his elder sibling Ravinder Chana aka Ravi.

He says preparations have been major because of WRC Safari being a longer and tougher event.

“It’s just a matter of rebuilding the engine and gearbox. We have had a thorough going-over of all components to make sure everything is working perfectly well. We intend to run our first Safari test in due course,” Chana explained.

“Our approach for the Equator was to go flat-out. but due to mother nature it became a survival game. You must have seen the number of dropouts we had in Naivasha, so we decided to take it easy and make sure we finish. During Safari, we are looking at the national championship as well,” said the Jaguar Petroleum sponsored driver.

Chana’s debut ever rally was the ICC Safari Rally in 2007 when he drove a VW Golf GTI in Two Wheel Drive and finished third in class. He also won the 2WD Championship twice in 2007 and 2009. From then on, he has won various championships in the Toyota Celica including the KNRC Division 3,2 and 1.

He later moved to the Evo 9 which he won his division and 3rd overall in the championship. Chana later upgraded to his current Mitsubishi Evolution 10.

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