Nairobi, October 14, 2010--Phineas Kimathi, one of the big draws in the KCB Mombasa rally this weekend, has withdrawn from competition due to pressure of work a final showdown loams between championship leader Alistair Cavenagh and three other top contestants.
Kimathi, the surprise performer in the Meru round where he finished fourth in his second rally in eight years, was gunning for a podium position in Mombasa and had already flown to Nairobi a Prodrive factory engineer from UK to fine tune his Subaru Impreza to sea level specifications.
San Valencia Corporate Caterers are involved in the on going Africa Women Conference at the KICC and Tusker project Fame Season Four which requires his presence. ''But we are going to have a strong presence in Mombasa where San Valencia will support Asad "Kalulu'' Khan whose recent performance has been very impressive," said Kimathi.
'I had included Mombasa in my three races engagement this year but due to unavoidable circumstances I have to skip Mombasa."
In his first two races Kimathi showed glimpses of being capable of changing the Cavenagh, Lee Rose, Carl Tundo and Baldev Chager axis which has dominated the sport for the last eight years.
The only drivers who have threatened this order in the past has been Ian Duncan and Azar Anwar who has had a limited programme. But Duncan has been notching remarkable runner-up positions in the past.
In Mombasa besides the ever popular "Kalulu", fast rising , Anthony Nielsen, fourth in Nakuru, is being looked upon as a surprise performer Raji Bharij (Subaru), third in the Nairobi round a month ago in a Subaru Impreza.
Still on song Cavengh in the Dalbit Mitsubishi Evo 9 is tipped to win as he is also familiar with rally conditions in Mombasa.
The rally is sceduled to start at 3:00 pm outside the KCB Kilifi branch followed by a spectator stage Creek Spectator Stage.
The restart of the rally is planned for 6.30 am on Sunday, at Baobab Lodge perc ferme. Final scrutineering and perc ferme will be held at the service park situated at Ganze Boys Secondary School. The finish of the rally will be at the service park in Ganze from 3:30 pm onwards. On Saturday, October 16 fans will be treated to some exhilarating displays of rallying artistry at CS1/0.8Km Creek Spectator Stage with cars heading straight to the overnight perc ferme at Baobab Lodge.
