Rally Queens tame the Taitas
The Rally Queens, Samira Khan and Chantal Young, survived a rally of attrition when the all woman crew brought their classic Ford Escort Mk1 to the finish of the recent KCB Voi Rally. The girls suffered with a poor handling car after a rear shock absorber failed in the famous Taita Hills but Samira was able to nurse the Escort to the finish and gained plenty of useful experience.
The Voi Rally was crucial to the Rally Queens plans for 2013 as the girls aim to contest the East African Safari Classic in November and part of the route will include the areas around Voi. This said, Samira handled the unfortunate mechanical woes with dignity and skill, realizing that finishing the event was more important than risking a crash by trying to go fast. Samira; It was very frustrating having the shock absorber fail on us but we have been rallying on a tight budget as we prepare for the Classic. It is time to give the poor Escort some major attention soon, but this might mean skipping a rally to save some budget. The stages in Voi are fantastic and, whilst the car was handling well, we had a lot of fun and gained some really useful experience of the area!
The Rally Queens will now begin preparing the 1969 Ford Escort for the Classic Safari in November and will need to find a balance between contesting as many Kenyan National Rallies as possible and ensuring that the car is fully prepared for the nine day marathon in just six months time!