This archive report was first published on 22 September 2019.
Onkar Rai made a triumphant debut in the Kenya National Rally Championship, winning the Chloride Exide-sponsored Hill Climb race driving a Volkswagen Polo. The two-day Rift Valley Motor Sports Club event took place over the weekend in Naivasha.
With a time of 2min 37.509secs, Rai outpaced a field of 35 vehicles, including Ian Duncan, the former multiple Kenya National Rally Drivers Champion and Safari Rally winner, who finished second driving a Buggy.
Shivam Vinayak took third place on a motorcycle, with the fastest time of 2min 48.482secs.
The timing technology used in the event was unique, with officials stationed in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, sending live updates to Kenya on each car that crossed the finish line.
‘It is satisfying to manage a timing system that is able to work and deliver stage times and final results on time from as far as Bulgaria,’’ Alexander Kovatchev, the head of timing technology, said in a phone interview from Bulgaria.
The event featured seven different classes of vehicles, including Bikes, Quads, 4WDs, Raids, Classics, Buggies, and Juniors, with cars running at two-minute intervals and motorcycles at one-minute intervals.
