Zambia: Muna, Essa Out of Weekend Rally

29 March 2011

Zambian top rally drivers, Muna Singh and Mohammed Essa may miss this weekend’s first national rally championship in Lusaka due to their involvement in the Sasol Rally South African set for April 15-17 in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Province.

Muna and Essa, who are Team Madison Racing crews, said in separate interviews yesterday in Lusaka that it would be difficult for them to participate in the rally slated for Lusaka because they are scheduled to leave for South Africa next weekend.

The 20th edition of the Sasol Oil (Pty) Limited-sponsored Sasol Rally is the second round of this season’s eight-legged FIA African Rally Championship (ARC) and both Muna and Essa are hoping to score points from this rally going into the Zambian International Rally in May.

“I don’t think I will make it because I am preparing for South Africa as you know I have to perform there. We will see, maybe I will enter but I doubt it very much,” said Muna, who finished fourth in the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge in Harare on March 13.

The Dave Sihoka co-driven Muna said he was finalising car preparations this week and that he would go for a brief test-drive at the weekend.

Essa, on the other hand, said he had 50-50 chances of entering the local rally but he was quick to say his participation was largely dependent on the arrival of some spare parts he had ordered from South Africa.

The 21-year-old Essa, who like Muna drives a Madison Subaru Impreza, said he would have loved to use the domestic rally as test-drive for the Sasol Rally.

“I don’t think I will enter the rally. I am really not very sure because I am still waiting for a cylinder head gasket from South Africa. If it comes on time then I will enter if not then I just have to continue preparing South Africa.

My main aim in this (weekend) rally was not to push very hard but just to see if the car is okay and ready for South Africa because I am leaving next week on Sunday,” he said.

Essa, who on Thursday night received a morale boosting K20 million sponsorship from AfriConnect Zambia, said he needs to garner points after drawing a blank in Zimbabwe where he cooked his engine on the second day of the three-day Challenge.

Zambia Motor Sport Association (ZMSA) vice-president Sam Ching’ambu said this weekend’s rally would be run on the stages that would host the Zambia International Rally billed for May 20-23.

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