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Rally driver Karan Patel’s impressive show at the FIA African Rally Championship earned him the LG/SJAK Sports Personality of the Month award for November
Rally driver Karan Patel has been feted as the LG/SJAK Sports Personality of the Month for November.
The Nairobi-based rally driver, also a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, achieved this feat after securing his maiden FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) in Tanzania last month.
This marks Patel's second monthly award, following his first in October 2022, the same year he clinched his maiden Kenya National Rally Championship title.
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18:53 - 12.11.2023
MOTORSPORTS Kenya’s Patel, Khan emerge FIA African Rally Championship winners after second-place finish at season-ending ASAS event in Tanzania
Kenyan duo Karan Patel and his co-driver Tauseef Khan protected their championship lead to claim the overall ARC Rally title following a podium finish in the season finale in Tanzania
Patel has since swept the ground with all his opponents over the last two seasons finishing second overall to Zambian Leroy Gomes in the 2022 ARC season and indeed beating Uganda's Jas Mangat to the title on homestretch in the prestigious Rally of Tanzania in November.
To win the November silverware, Patel aka "KP" beat several other nominees in other disciplines, including Kenya’s highest-ranked golfer Michael Karanga of Kiambu Golf Club and 58-year old athlete Priscillah Biwott who won a gold medal in the women’s 5000m at the 14th Africa Masters Athletics Championships in Pretoria, South Africa.
Karanga made it to the nomination list for breaking a 23-year-old course record as he won the prestigious Manchester Salver tournament at the Eldoret Golf Club, in the same month he finished second while playing against 30 professional golfers and 40 amateurs at a Pro Am competition at Kiambu Golf Club.
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10:30 - 12.12.2023
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Irish rally legend John Coyne exits East African Safari Classic Rally, replaced by co-driver, aiming to conquer unforeseen challenges.
Behind the veneer of calm and assuredness displayed by Karan and his partner Tauseef throughout the 2023 ARC season lay an undercurrent of excitement that erupted into a joyous stream during the prize-giving ceremony in Sao Hill Mafinga, Iringa where the dust finally settled on continental series.
Patel, adorned with the Red Bull athlete distinction, joined the prestigious ranks of Kenyan drivers who got their mitts on the FIA ARC title including the likes of Shekhar Mehta, David Horsey, Jaspreet Singh Chatthe, Don Smith, Manvir Baryan and Carl Tundo.
"Winning the FIA African Rally Championship is the realization of a lifelong dream. It's an honour to be mentioned alongside the legends of Kenyan rallying and also winning my second Sports personality of the month award. Tauseef (Khan) and I put in tireless effort to reach this milestone, and I am immensely grateful for the unwavering support we have received," said Patel.
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20:45 - 22.10.2023
MOTORSPORTS Karan Patel stuns Zambia by beating Leroy Gomes to keep ARC title dreams alive
Karan Patel's Zambia Rally win over Leroy Gomes keeps his FIA African Rally Championship hopes alive in a thrilling showdown
For the November victory, Patel was awarded an LG washing machine valued at Sh101,000.
A masterclass in skill and strategic finesse, Patel and Khan navigated their way to a second-place finish in Tanzania, where they had backed off from their traditional "fast and furious" antics to shirk from any unnecessary risks thus winning the continental championship title on a season-closer while also becoming the first Kenyan pair to achieve this remarkable feat in a Ford marque.
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