‘Sleeping Warrior’ stage a truly stern test for man and machine

 

Regional drivers had a feel of the 2021 WRC Safari Rally sections and most of them said it was a memorable experience. 

For sure, the “Sleeping Warrior” stage must be respected. The roads are narrow, rocky, and rough to the extreme.

Whether wet or dry, the road surfaces of Sleeping Warrior and the entire rally  apart from Kedong with twisty corners and  short straights  will be the graveyard of car parts -- suspension et al.

Millennia old rocks, some jutting out like half-buried spearheads covered with algae, shredded tyres, ripped through plastic bumpers exposing the heart of the R5 cars or lesser power racers compared to the purpose-built World Rally Car.

The ARC Equator Rally winning navigator Jim Jessop predicted a windfall for whoever will be clearing waste because he will collect expensive composite material car parts. 

The Sleeping Warrior section, starting from an innocuous stretch not far away from Pipeline Road, with a few mud holes dug deeper by the leading cars, will shake a few shock absorbers before the cars reach the western side of this distinctive beautiful hill visible from as far as the ridges surrounding Gilgil town.

The road snaking around Sleeping Warrior encompasses all the ingredients of the old Safari around the mountain.

There is a smooth start, giving way to lose surface with pebbles strewn everywhere for 2km before entering the Acacia bush, and finally giving way to rocks which are bigger and firmly embedded on the road over the last 3km. A sort of place you would not want to be alone. 

In the lead up to the Equator Rally, it had rained the previous night on Friday in the area around Gilgil and Nakuru flooding the entire rally route, and with it the road surface.

 Elementaita second loop was passable despite deep mud holes; Soysambu was described by drivers as smooth sailing until Sleeping Warrior. 

Baldev Chager punctured his back and front left  tyres.

Malik lost control and ended up in a drift. Luckily safety marshals were around and they were quick to retrieve him, shaken but unhurt.

Naivasha area has a peculiar weather pattern. It would be raining cats and dogs on one side, and dry a few kilometres away.

Coincidentally, the rainy conditions of Soysambu, Elementaita, and Sleeping Warrior were witnessed in Kedong, Malewa, and Loldia on Sunday morning.

Competitions tightened after Baldev Charger, Ian Duncan and Onkar Rai were forced out by mechanical problems but allowed to rejoin the rally in a new rule that allows those who have retired to fix their cars and rejoin the following day but subjected to time penalties for sections not covered.

All the three were wiser, treated their cars well, and started posting commendable times on day two, Sunday. 

Like Sleeping Warrior, Malewa is another hell for a rubber experience with little or no soil surfaces.

It is like a graded quarry with steep hilly sections, never allowing drivers to average beyond 70kph.

Despite limited publicity to avoid an influx of fans into the rally sections, Kenyans love for the rally was witnessed. At Kikopey meat  joint where  thousands of fans almost caused a gridlock on the busy Nairobi-Nakuru Highway before the GSU were called to restore order.

Many braved the morning drizzle all the way from the KWS Training Institute up to Delamere –KenGen turn off just to catch a glimpse of the speeding road beasts.

Going by the response of Kenyans last weekend, many more are expected to  line the spectator stages where permitted making the WRC return a truly Kenyan affair in June.

The Safari route has been designed in such a way that fans can watch the action from morning to late afternoon on sections that will be repeated twice at spectator points where they can enjoy food and drink in the open Savannah as they watch out for local fauna and foreign automobiles.   BY DAILY NATION