NATIONAL RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP: Morogoro seeks to regain glorious era

MOROGORO: THE Morogoro-based youth, Walid Nahdi is geared to end Arusha-Dar es Salaam supremacy in Iringa, where the second round of the National Rally Championship (NRC) will be staged next week.

For over three decades, drivers from Arusha and Dar es Salaam have been dominating the podium finish; a situation the young driver is keen to change by making Morogoro regain its winning form.

He said, during its heydays, Morogoro was unbeatable in motorsports during a period when it’s legendary wheelers; Collin Higgins, Patrice Comtois and Samir Shanto were regular winners of the national level championships.

“It will be like the one-man war as I am alone in this endeavour,” said Nahdi, the driver of Subaru Impreza N10.

Iringa Motor Sports Club (IMSC)will host the second round on September 13th and 14th this year, about two months after Tanga hosted the season opener in July this year.

The club’s secretary, Maneno Robert, confirmed yesterday that Nahdi is one of the new entries in the event expected to bring to dusty roads over 30 drivers and navigators from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.

“I know it won’t be an easy task as I will be racing against experienced drivers from in and outside Tanzania. But I bank on my car and driving skills to overcome their threat,” he said and thanked his sponsor, Afroil, for backing him.

For his endeavour to meet its de sired target, Nahdi said he relies on Awadh Bafadhil’s navigation, since he has vast experience in the field after navigating many good drivers in the past twenty years.

“He is a good navigator who knows his job well, I think I can achieve a lot with him around,” he further said.

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The IMSC secretary said the young driver will be facing a stiff opposition from experienced drivers most notably Yassin Nasser and his navigator Ally Katumba who are the defending champions, Randeep Birdi who won the season opener in Tanga and Aru sha’s Gurpal Sandhu who finished the overall runner up in Tanga.

Host Ahmed Huwel is also a force to reckon with in this round since he is too hard to beat at his home ground. Huwel and the defending champion Nasser will parade their skills in Ford Fiesta.

Also, among the notable entries are Guljit Dhani and Ajminder Dhani from Kilimanjaro, both of them skilled drivers.

Furthermore, the IMSC secretary said the Iringa Rally will be officially flagged at Samora Stadium, where the short-circuit Super Special Stage (SSS) will be held before the completion revs off at Huwel farm, 35 km west of Iringa town.