IT was a rare extravaganza of speed, noise and engineering prowess of the top speed capacity cars that line up for the race at the inaugural Gomes Nsobe Safari Rally last weekend.
The rally took place on tough terrain of Masaiti District and indeed it lived up to expectations after a 20-year absence from the Ndola spectators, some of whom were not yet born then and were revelling in this experience for the very first time.
Gomes Haulage Limited deserves a pat on the back for bringing back this long-awaited national motor rally to Ndola and it was such an amazing spectacle and unforgettable occurrence for the residents.
The company pumped K50,000 into the rally of which K15,000 was allocated to the prizes but, most importantly, Gomes Haulage pledged to sponsor the competition on an annual basis.
“We were inspired to bring the rally closer to the people because of the enthusiasm of people in motor sport,” Urshlla Gomes said prior to the championship.
It is a common global state of affairs to see huge crowds of people thronging the venues of racing competitions such as Formula One or the Dakar Rally, just to catch a glimpse of their favorite drivers.
The Gomes Nsobe Safari Rally was no different as it pulled crowds from within and outside Ndola and Masaiti to enjoy glitz of racing cars.
It was fully packed at the Ndola motor cross in Twapia Township where the qualification round revved off before the rally moved to Nsobe game camp.
“I am very excited to have been part of this event… It was really awesome to see cars skidding in the dusty roads and if this rally will be coming annually, it will add more excitement to the sports calendar here.
Some of us are not football fans but with this motor rally, we will have something to watch,” said one of the spectators Jane Banda.
The rally was also an opportunity for many fans to see the favourite drivers they had just been reading about in the Newspapers or watching on Television.
Yes! It was a rally worthy watching as Farook Ticklay was crowned winner after outsmarting his challengers to finish in pole position.
The Gomes Nsobe Safari Rally race was not short of upsets as some of the top drivers who included former African champion Mohammed Essa, Miles Monge, Jurgen Sauter, Kelvin Mhlanga, Mohammed Hassan and Niel Patel among others failed to finish.
Ticklay won the race after clocking one hour 26 minutes and 35 seconds, which was 49 seconds ahead of his closest rival, Muna Singh Junior.
The 26-year-old Monze based driver, navigated by Jasmeen Singh in his Subaru Imprezza, who also led the qualifying stage at the Ndola Motocross Track on Saturday, earned himself K4, 000 first prize.
Muna Jnr, who was navigated by Adrian Sutherland, got K3, 000.
Even though local favourite, Leroy Gomes whose co-driver was his wife, Urslla, in a Mitsubishi Evo 4, finished third after timing one hour 33 minutes and 19 seconds to receive K2, 000, Ndola residents were impressed.
“It is so amazing these guys (drivers) spin their cars but at least as Ndola residents, our own (Leroy) has finished amongst the top three which is not bad, he did well,” another fan Joe Tumbama said.
Gomes lost time when he encountered a python in the first stage as he opened the race. Vyon Pinto raced into the fourth position after trailing the Gomes couple by 0:08.22 minutes.
Toofail Dalal, who was navigated by Mali Chulu, clocked an hour 39 minutes and 20 seconds to claim the fifth place, 0:14.27 minutes ahead of Kumaren Naidu, whose co-driver was his mum, Tinky.
Veteran Azim Ticklay, driving his favourite Toyota Land Cruiser, proved that he still got some steel in him by finishing seventh on one hour 45 minutes and 43 seconds, 0:22.19 minutes better than Mujo Simakoloyi.
Another Ticklay, Yazdaan was ninth on one hour 49 minutes and six seconds and was trailed by Wellington Matimba (2:02.08) and Kleevan Gomes (2:21.06), respectively.
Gomes Haulage Limited’s gesture was completed by other players in the business community.
Nsobe Game Camp, DEIS radio Telecom, Auto world, Mukuba Hotel, Sun fm, Jive FM, Flava FM, Mary Begg, First Quantum Minerals and the Fire Brigade were some of the companies that have come on board to make the rally possible.
With concerted efforts form the corporate world, more of such events will hit the ground.
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