JOE, KIBAARA RAISE NGONG DUST.
 

Former Two Wheel Drive foes Joe Muchiri and Patrick Kibaara were at Ngong top at the weekend to test their contraptions in readiness for the new KCB Rally season. The Rallye Sports Club (RSC) –organized season opener will take place in Nyeri and its environs on the weekend of February 4-5. United Millers Limited-sponsored Muchiri expressed optimism with the performance of his newly acquired ex-Richard Onyoni Subaru gc8 car when he and his navigator Riyaz Ismail went out testing on CS1 of last year’s Guru Nanak Rally route.

“Riyaz did very well, I must admit. He was kind of nervous on the first loop of the test but soon picked himself up and I realized the bond between us was instant from then on. I am happy with his pace notes and he is flabbergasted by my driving,” said Muchiri. Riyaz was all smiles: “It’s a great feeling inside the car, the car can really take roughs and I enjoyed the jumps,” quipped Riyaz.

United Millers-makers of Jambo maize mill and Tropicana baking floor-have confirmed coming on board as title sponsors for Muchiri in the full 2012 KNRC season. Muchiri is now making a big switch from 2WD to the competitive 4WD this season in the United Millers Racing livery cautioning his Division Three opponents that he’s not pushover or a journeyman for that matter.

Kibaara, on the other hand, sounded quite ferbrile after testing and promised an all out attack with the now rebuilt Toyota Levin car which he rolled in Guru Nanak Rally last season. “The car is in awesome condition. We have done a thorough going over of it in the off-season and repaired the front part which was damaged when we flipped in Kajiado last year,” said Kibara.

While Kibaara anticipates winning g the 2WD this season, Muchiri cautioned all the ‘big bulls’ of the KNRC Division Three class to brace up for ‘real war’. “The idea from the onset is to be at par with the Division Three lot. I hope they don’t expect me to back-off either; I just want to be at the top,” bragged Muchiri who will be navigated by Riyaz for the full season.

“The test was really encouraging. Since we had not sat together in a 4WD, we were just eager to see if we can jell in high speeds. And we realized there is a big difference from the rear wheel 2WD Toyota Levin we have race over the past two seasons and the Subaru gc8 we are testing currently. It was a good balancing act between skill and machine and we found ourselves ready to go for the Nyeri challenge,” said Muchiri.

Although his adversaries in the KNRC Division Three won’t relent on speed and championship points, Muchiri reckons he has made the right decision and that “this is the right way to go.” “It feels good to drive. When coming round corners there is that requisite boost unlike in the 2WD car. You can actually increase speed on corners and come out of them at a higher pace which to me is really exciting. We also learned how to manage pace notes at a high speed because this is a completely new ball game altogether. When hitting jumps it’s feels good and the landing is just nice and easy because we are now on Proflex suspensions,” said Muchiri who also tested the engine performance.