By Feverpitch Reporter

The rising passion of female drivers is expected to hit fever pitch at the 2011 KCB Guru Nanak Rally headed for Kajiado, Olepolos and Isinya this Sunday.

The Rally Queens of Samira Khan and co-driver Anita Irwin will be treating this event to prepare ahead of next month’s East African Safari Classic Rally.

The all-ladies ‘Warembo Bila Make Up’ crew of Stella Macharia and Hellen Shiri are ready for the weekend action, which makes up the seventh and penultimate round of the KCB Kenya National Rally Championship 2011 co-sponsored by iWay Africa, Keringet, ALS, Identisys, Car Track and National Oil.

Macharia, a navigator-turned driver, was quite excited as preparations on her ex-Lee Rose Gulf Oil-sponsored Subaru Impreza took shape.

"Rallying has been perceived to be a male sport and with more ladies owning cars nowadays, it has been easier for them to understand the intrigues of the sport. It is also among the few sports where men and women compete on the same platform just like in the business world where promotions are on merit and not gender," said Macharia.

Clinch title

Macharia has been inspired by the Uganda’s Susan Muwonge who recently won the Independence Rally and thus became the first African woman to win a rally championship.

"I have been inspired by how she (Muwonge) has gradually come up in the past six years to eventually clinch the Ugandan title," said Macharia, who is hopping to second career finish as a driver.

Elsewhere, Abdul Sidi Rally Academy (ASRA) graduate Nehreen Ismail is looking forward to the Guru Nanak Rally with great expectations.

Ismail, who is one of the few female competitors currently taking Kenyan rallying scene by storm, hopes to wrap up her 2011 rally campaign by gracing the Guru Nanak this weekend as well as the season ending KCB Mtaani Rally in December.

Ismail, who skipped the action in Kisumu, will navigate Rashid Kabi who has acquired a Subaru gc8. This will be Ismail’s first KNRC (4WD) participation.

"I can’t wait to call the pace notes for Kabi since this will be a different ball game all together," said Ismail.

Ismail boasts of four 2WD Championship starts and one Cross Country Raid Challenge finish with Sophie Govani.

Her best rally result was indeed her first ever KCB Safari Rally in 2011 at KICC where she racked up a podium finish by guiding Kibaara to a credible second overall position thus becoming the first Asian girl to stand on the F2 podium.

"It went down as my most memorable result in the space of such a short debut. The second finish in the Safari will always linger in my mind for life. I couldn’t imagine it coming so early as my third career rally," said Ismail.

During Cross Country, she finished sixth overall and became first girl of Asian descent to ever finish a cross-country event in Kenya since its introduction in 2004.

Being the youngest female competitor, Ismail feels there are many more mountains to climb before she finally announces her arrival at the competitive and fancied KNRC class.