fatuma jillo 
The 1967 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint of Gayling May will be one of the star cars in this year's Africa Concours d’Elegance. The rush is on for the few spaces remaining for the event scheduled for Sunday, September 24th.
The rush is underway for the last few remaining places in the Africa Concours d’Elegance which is scheduled for September 24 th at the Nairobi Racecourse.Only a handful of spaces for cars are vacant before the list reaches the maximum of 70 machines.
The Concours is rated as the classiest event on the Kenya Motorsport calendar.Once again the entries promise to be a happy mix of newcomers and regulars. Among the first timers is John Milia Ntoipo with a Daimler Sovereign limousine and Major Kelvin Saningo Leiyan. He will be putting his hopes on his 1980 Mitsubishi Gallant as he drives along the judging line in front of the main Nairobi Racecourse grandstand.
The Concours has been held annually by the Alfa Romeo Owners Club with the objectives of celebrating the Club’s anniversaries and giving dedicated car and motorcycle owners the chance to have them judged by experienced officials.The spectators flock to the Nairobi Racecourse from 9:00 a.m. and enjoy viewing highly prepared cars and motorcycles which are rarely seen on the road. The event also gives the
opportunity for ladies to dress for the occasion.
Participants in the event delight to show their machines to spectators and discuss the challenges of finding spare parts and in some cases having components made.The greatest glory goes to the top three overall competitors, but there is also an impressive list of prizes in the twelve classes for cars and eight for motorcycles and for the best performances by various makes.
Long time Concours supporters include Alec Davis with his 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider sports car, Jane Chemngorem who has a 1962 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia coupe and Gayling May in his 1967 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint.
The 70 car entries will be assessed using the TotalEnergies Quartz inspection ramp for the underside.Subsequently they will motor slowly along the judging line in front of the grandstand for experienced officials to check the paintwork, interior, boot and engine before competitors return to the competitor’s car park.
Dr.Saio Mauro will contest the Concours in a Peugeot 304 convertible in the sports car category which also features a 1964 Triumph Spitfire which was built to compete with MG sports cars.The organisers are pleased with the variety of cars which will be in the event and with the entries from Tanzania and Uganda. Among the entries from Tanzania is a 1990 Lancia Delta Integrale which is under preparation by Arusha based Navraaj Singh Hans.
A squad of four Mercedes- Benz saloons will be brought from Uganda to rival the Kenya based touring car entries.Patrick Mweheire the leader of the Uganda challenge is particularly pleased with his 1969 Mercedes-Benz 230S.Kenya based motorcycle enthusiasts are preparing unusual machines including a 1976 Bultaco Sherpa by Dominique Antoine.Simon Christy is putting the finishing touches to his Kawasaki
KZ1000 and Honda CB 400F. He has an impressive track record having previously won the overall motorcycle prize and he has been the Chief motorcycle judge.
The giant motorcycles at the parade ring will grab the interest of many spectators. Captain David Mwaura will ride his Suzuki GT750 round the parade ring in the class for large street bikes.Another massive motorcycle in contention will be the 1999 Harley Davidson of Tumaini
Muthiga. There will be a big influx of motorcycles from the Pearl Bikers Africa and the Uganda Bikers Association to compete at the Nairobi Racecourse.
