Newly crowned Kenya champion Jasmeet Singh Chana, known as “Iceman,” has joined the prestigious list of past winners of the legendary SUC Guru Nanak Rally, which culminated in the Elementeita region of the Great Rift Valley.

Driving his championship-winning Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10, Chana secured his victory as his competitors struggled to catch up in the challenging wet and muddy conditions across Mbweha Conservancy, Soysambu, and Sleeping Warrior in Nakuru county.

Jasmeet led the Sikh Union-organized round from start to finish, and after the event, he shared, “With the championshipalready in the bag, we went into the penultimate round 8 event under no pressure. The essence for now is to enjoy the remaining bit of the season, before starting our new challenge. It was such an exciting outing to have a fun wet rally without feeling any pressure,” remarked Jasmeet, who also claimed the B13 Class victory.

His triumph in the Guru Nanak Rally marked his third career win, following his successes in the Eldoret and Nakuru rounds of 2023.

Samman Vohra, the winner of last month’s KMSC Rally, encountered a setback at the start of SS3, which prevented him from achieving a more substantial victory in the race.

“We could have won this rally by a bigger margin but we were handed a 10 -minute penalty at the start of SS 3 for checking into the time control early. But I’m glad we fought back to claim a podium third place,” he stated.

McRae Kimathi secured second place overall in a Ford Fiesta Rally 3.

Ian Duncan, who holds the record for 12 Guru Nanak victories, did not leave the Sikh Union-organized round empty-handed, as he clinched the Classic Car title, finishing fourth overall.

Nikhil Sachania, a physically challenged driver, triumphed in the NR4 Class with his hand-controlled Evo 10, while Chinu Matharu, driving a CRT Prototype, claimed victory in the raid class.

Samman and McRae secured wins in the Rally2 and Rally 3 classes, respectively, while Jose Sardinha emerged as the winner in the SPV (Specially Prepared Vehicles) class.

Jasmeet established an early lead after securing the initial run of the 21km SS1 Mbweha speed-test. Skoda Fabia’s Samman set the fastest time on the 23km SS2 Sleeping Warrior 1, but Chana maintained his lead with a six-second advantage over the former.

Piers Daykin, navigating and driving a Datsun 280Z Classic car, displayed consistent pace by winning the third stage at Soysambu, yet Chana extended his lead to 56.48 seconds after Samman’s penalty troubles.
Samman Vohra rallied back with three fastest times on repeated runs of Mbweha, Sleeping Warrior, and Soysambu, but it was Chana who led the rally with one stage remaining.