Final preparations for Kavisi ahead of Safari Rally

Evans Kavisi and his navigator Absalom Aswani will run their third and final test at Kiambu's Twisty Corners on Friday well in time for the WRC Safari Rally, which will be held on 23-26 June.

Following their first two test drives in Stoni Athi, the KCB Racing Team duo discovered a few broken parts that needed replacement.

“After the first two tests we dismantled the car to do a laser check on mechanical moving parts and gears that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. This was to detect early possible cracks that were about to give in for breakage.

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These are gears from gearbox internals, center differential and rear differential, arms and drive shafts. So, we went back to the workshop to replace them,” Aswani explains.

The duo will pilot a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10 that they have been fine tuning at the team's workshop in Westlands as Safari adventure nears. Last year, the duo did not finish the Safari but are determined to break the jinx in the 2022 edition.

Driver Kavisi is confident that things will work out smoothly after their final test run as it will pave the way for their final phase of preparations.

“Our focus this time round is to complete the journey first then think about all the points, the rankings and the classifications later. The objective of the first two tests in Stoni Athi were to achieve mileage. So, we ran about 80km of a test run. Then, the car underwent a strip rebuild to repair the faulty parts.

Our test on Friday will be to achieve a 10-plus test of mileage kilometers to check if the car is in good nick for the Naivasha adventure. To earn points, we must finish first. We hope to end this year's competition in a respectable place but after a thorough going-over of the car,” Kavisi offered.

Kavisi took part in the East African Classic Safari Rally (EASCR) in February where he was a late entrant after he got a last-minute sponsorship from the Minti Motorsport Team.

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The deal saw him link up with Safari Rally legends Ian Duncan and Anthony Nielsen who were also supported by Minti Motorsport in the grueling EASCR. Kavisi will also consider the lessons learned from the energy-sapping Safari Classic into the WRC Safari Rally.

"During the classic rally, we observed that preparations count for 80 percent and competing is just 20 per in the rally. Testing the machine before the game is mandatory,” Kavisi went on.