Stage set for Tanga motor rally

The third leg of the Automobile Association of
Tanzania (AAT) flags off here today as 17
drivers have confirmed to compete.
The day-long event covering over 300
kilometers is expected to flag off at the Tanga
Beach Resort Hotel and ends at the Mkwakwani
Stadium.
Tanga Motor Club’s chairman Hussein Moor
said competing drivers must bring their cars
for technical scrutiny to evaluate safety
regulations and eligibility.
Besides drivers from outside the region, seven
of them are competing from the host club.
He mentioned the drivers as Ali Ahmed Kiraka/
Ahmed Faroik, Said Baghoza/Faisal Ramadhan,
Habid/Yusuf Juma, Tony Kurban/ Hari singh,
Jamal Nirma/Ali Humoud, Saleh  and Hassan/
Ahmed Khatib.
Drivers from Dar es Salaam include veteran one
Nick and Kelvin Taylor, Jamil Khan/Rahim
Suleiman and Kirit Pandya/Ashraf Ashrafe,
Competing from Moshi are Singh brothers of
Hari, Bob and Rizwan Hadji. Arusha trio joining
the fray are Gurpal Singh, Marco Ferreira and
Eric Cormac.
The ongoing torrential rains has eroded some
of the rally sections to the extent of forcing
the organisers to change or cancel certain
sections.
Most of the competing drivers used the whole
of yesterday to explore the new sections
introduced ahead of tomorrow event.
The rally precedes a FIA sponsored motor
sport safety seminar held here for two days.
Most of the delegates of the workshop have
remained here to watch the proceedings of the
rally while making application of the knowledge
gained from the workshop.
Notable absentee from the Tanga rally includes
defending champion Dharam Pandya who so
far does not have points for title defence bid.
One of the top placed drivers into AAT
standings for the season’s title race Salim Hadji
is also missing owing to business
commitments.
However, Hadji’s navigator Rahim Suleiman is
competing with another driver with an
objective of earning points for the
championship.