Neel, Jessop, Chana siblings to be feted in KMSF Motorsport awards

The best motorsport individual will be known on Saturday, January 27 during the Kenya Motor Sports Federation Annual Awards Ceremony to be held at the Carnivore restaurant in the Langata suburb of Nairobi

 The fabled event, which has rewarded racing legends for decades ,will fete all the 2023 KMSF category champions in Tarmac Racing, 4X4, Autocross, the national rally series better known as the KNRC as well as the National Rally Raid and Karting championships.

The ultimate prize for the gala will be the coveted motorsport personality-of- the- year 2023 award.

The identity of the motor sport personality is usually kept secret and only revealed on the gala night.

Last year, Karan Patel was named the motorsport personality of the year for winning his maiden national rally championship title as well as finishing second in the continental ARC series behind Leroy Gomes of Zambia.

Among those to be acknowledged for their exemplary performances during the past season include Kenya National Rally Champions  and siblings Jasmeet and Ravi Chana, Rally Raid overall champion Tim Jessop.

Jasmeet is a second generation driver and one of the few drivers to have won virtually all categories of motor rallying in Kenya including Group N, Group N, Divisions 1 and 3 and Two Wheel Drive in his early days of racing.

 -Rising Star–
Rising Star Neel Gohil will be feted for an unprecedented double in the Kenyan National Autocross category alongside Eric Bengi (4WD-T), John Kadivani (Open) and Azaad Manji (2WD -T).

During the 2023 season, Neel made history as the first 15-year-old to win two  championships, all in the senior category, this year. He won the 2WD NT Buggy and 2WD NT Car autocross classes and finished second in the two wheel drive category of the RX Championship.

With the support of Shell, Taisho Parts, and Going Outdoor, this Neel has showcased immense potential. He’s already planning to make a grand entrance into the motorsport scene this season, driving a Subaru N10 that’s currently under construction locally.

 Karting champions who will be rewarded for their exploits on asphalt are Wilf Alobo (bambino), Rio Bixente (cadet) and Krrish Vadgama (Rotax Junior).

Tarmac champions for last year are Leroy Otto (4WD) and
Moses Mwendwa (2WD).

 —Continental Champions–

Karan Patel and Tauseef Khan who partnered-up for the umpteenth time finally got their mitts on the FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) drivers and navigators titles respectively.

Karan is incidentally a former East African 85cc motocross champion, former KNRC champion and former Division Three and Group S champion.

Last year’s National Rally Raid Championship presented an extremely wet season-closer in Kitengela where several crews got stuck but the challenging nature of the terrain was an amazing fun and a far cry from the three preceding rounds.