Local drivers take podium in Tanga championship
The Pembe Club Rally Championship winner Shaneabbas Fazal (right) and winning navigator Ally Hamoud Al-Salmypose after the race in Tanga recently. photo | Akshay Pratap
What you need to know:
The majority of the participants comprised young local drivers who were intent on exhibiting their skills on the dusty race tracks.
Tanga. The valentines’ weekend kicked off with less than 24 hours to the Pembe Club Rally Championship held by the Tanga Motorsports’ Club (TMSC) after their initial plans for the NRC were put down.
The majority of the participants comprised young local drivers who were intent on exhibiting their skills on the dusty race tracks.
The event flagged off from the Tanga Beach Resort under temperate and cloudy conditions and headed to the Korea circuit where Ashu Barbosa lit up the opening patch having pushed his Subaru Legacy to clock in half a minute faster than second placed Shaneabbas Fazal.
The fiery atmosphere was too hot to handle for Ally Ahmed (Toyota Levin), Harjeet Singh (Toyota Celica) and Twalib Hatibu (Toyota Supra) who retired with mechanical problems.
Arusha driver Isaac Taylor was alongside navigator Monica Lyimo in their Mitsubishi Evo 4, but their run was short-lived after the oil cooler pipe gave way to quash their ambitions.
The Zavery brothers also had nothing to show off after mechanical failure added them to an already long list of retirements. The race went in to the second competitive section with veteran driver and fans’ favourite Said Baghoza co-driven by Ashraf Ashraphe behind the wheel of his famous Range Rover having lost precious time, after their car switched off for almost five minutes in their first run.
Anthony John (Land Rover) eventually retired to leave the Subarus of Shaneabbas Fazal, Aliasgher Fazal & Ashu Barbosa to fight it out over the remaining two sections.
Barbosa was taking the ride of his life in the comparatively underpowered Legacy and amazed the crowd with the most spectacular jump in the race at Korea.
Shaneabbas Fazal/Ally Hamoud Al-Salmy finished in style at Mkanyageni Minara with a lead of 01:27 winning the rally with Ashu Barbosa/Yusuph Mohammed in second place and Aliasgher Fazal/Eddy Aslam in third. Veteran Baghoza completed the race in fourth to wrap up an exciting day at the port town.
The national championship opener Vaisakhi Rally will be staged in Moshi during the Easter weekend.
