Safari Njema Sept 2017 Safari_Njema_Sept | Page 38

motor sports By Samson Ateka How farm-life contributed to a production of rally champions W hile most Kenyan kids grappl e with initial bicycl e l essons as early as eight years old, a unique group of young ‘bush boys’ may well have discerningly dispensed with their two wheel contraptions and busy driving trucks at some rough terrain in the countryside. It still puzzles many why most successful rall y drivers have a farming background. Former world rall y champion Petter Solberg is not the red- faced sort of farmer, the kind who angrily orders trespassers off their land in Oslo. Like his former 2001 Subaru teammate and former World Ch ampion, the late Rich ard Burns, Petter started his driving career at the same age and in similar spirit and fashion- when most children were getting to terms with their first bicycles. From eight years old, he was driving cars on the fields around his parents’ farm in Spydeberg, 50 km east of Oslo. Petter’s parents were both keen rall y-cross drivers, and naturally, Petter and his elder brother Henning inherited their fascination with cars. The then 11-year old Petter helped his parents build and maintain their autocross cars. Still far too young to compete, Petter raced radio-controlled cars and was Norwegian Champion at 13. master of wet and slippery terrain, honed his skills in the farm fields. Otto Ulyatte, Kenya’s 2003 African Motocross Champion sharpened his skills at their farm in Narok County after being inspired by his father, Robin Ulyatte who raced for Toyota works team in the Safari Rally. Former Kenya champions Carl Tundo and Lee Rose (now living in Nelspruit SA near Mozambique border) both have farming background. Rose’s and Tundo’s fathers, Frank Tundo and John Rose were farmers in Nakuru and reputable rall y drivers who had a feel of the works team cars when the country was blessed with world-beaters in the World rally Championship Safari Rally. Frank and John are oldies who were lucky to have seen the sport morph through different guises. The local rally farmers fondly referred to as the ‘bush drivers’, have dominated the local rallying scene for years leaving in their opponents trailing in their dust. Interestingly, a sizeable number of Kenyan drivers who have laid their hands on the coveted national Ch ampionship titl e (KNRC) owe their success to the bush connection. Limuru horticultural farmer, Rory Green, now on sabbatical, won the KNRC title twice in succession in 2001 and 2002 before Lee Rose took over the reins in 2003 and 2004. As if to prove that the ‘bush boys’ obduracy was far from over, Carl Tundo lost the KNRC title in 2005 to veteran auto-engineer Azar Anwar on homestretch at the KCB Guru Nanak Rally. You may think that there is some voodoo of sorts working for the bush drivers but Carl Tundo was quick to dispel this perception in past interview. “I learnt to drive when we were farming up in Maralal from about 15 and before that rode motor bikes from about 6 yrs old. The advantage of living on a farm in remote areas is that you get the chance to learn riding and driving much earlier. My farther (Frank) made us a small track for us to drive around in an old pickup. He inspired me and I A family affair Kenya, it is indeed a similar success story of careers honed from a family line of exquisite rally drivers. It is most certain that the young and perhaps the older generation of rallying and motocross aces in Kenya trace their roots from similar backgrounds. Carl Tundo The legendary late Shekhar Mehta –winner of 4WRC Safari rallies and former President of WRC Rallies Commission in the world motor sports governing body (FIA) - renowned as a 38 September 2017