Title holder Dharam Pandya is gearing up for the second leg of the Automobile Association of Tanzania’s national championship to be held in Moshi at the end of the month.

 

Pandya who missed the seasonal opener held in Dar es Salaam last month has so far no points to his collection.

 

The young driver in his early thirties will have to perfect in Moshi should he need to pave his way past Salim Hadji who has opened an eight-point gap in the championship race.

 

Hadji who uses Mitsubishi Evolution Seven with navigator Rahim Suleiman is on top of the standings table with 25 points ahead of the Moshi rally.

 

Pandya who scooped the best performance award after excelling in the previous season missed the opener through injury but has vowed to take part in Moshi.

 

With a change of navigator, Pandya will have to endure torrid moment to acclimatize with his new assistant Husssein Jaffer. Jaffer has replaced Pandya’s all time navigator Sanjeev Pandya who has taken a brief pause from the game.

 

Pandya uses Subaru Imprezza and he intends to fight back and secure points in Moshi but this will depend on how other drivers on the field perform.

 

After the Moshi rally, the series shifts to Tanga where the regional club is expected to host the third leg of the championship in May.

 

A total of seven rallies have been, lined up for the unfolding season including Africa Rally Championship to be held in Dar es Salaam in June.

 

The titleholder Pandya will have to battle it out with other drivers who have also earned some points in the opening rally. Arusha Motor Sports Club’s duo of  Eric Cormac and Marco Ferreira have occupied the second and third places of the standings and pose a huge threat to Pandya’s fight back for title retention.

 

Should one of these excel in Moshi then Pandya will have to wait for at least the next two events to press for more points before taking the lead while praying for the duo to flop.

 

 Besides Dharam another Pandya team of drivers Kirit is also gearing up for the Moshi rally. Kirit took part in the seasonal opener but a breakdown put hi off to miss out points.