This archive report was first published on 9 November 2019.
On November 9, 2019, the KCB Meru Rally witnessed a dramatic turn of events, with Manvir Baryan, a three-time African Champion, suffering a serious accident in his Skoda Fabia.
Baryan, who was navigating with Drew Stock, summersaulted his car several times in Stage Four before coming to an abrupt stop. The Skoda was extensively damaged, and Baryan complained of pelvic and chest pains.
Despite the severity of the crash, Baryan's navigator, Drew Stock, was reported to be okay. However, Baryan was airlifted to a Nairobi hospital for further observation, where he was flown by helicopter.
Meanwhile, Onkar Rai, navigating with Gavin Laurance, won the rally driving a VW Polo. This was the Volkswagen Polo's first win since making its rally debut three events ago in the KCB Kenya National Rally Championship.
However, the first time a Volkswagen won a round of the Kenya National Rally Championship was in 1994, when Sammy Aslam won the Kenya Motor Sports Club event in a VW Golf GTi.
Other notable results from the rally included Baldev Chager maintaining his lead in the overall standings of the 2019 KCB KNRC table, despite finishing in third place. James Kirimi and Michael Gitubu scored their best ever result with fourth overall in a Subaru Impreza, while McRae Kimathi and Evans Mwanda also achieved a similar result with fifth overall place.
