Nairobi — Young rally driver Sam Karangatha says competing among motorsport bigwigs and emerging winner of the Sunday's Rally Training programme is a memory he will savour for many years to come.

Driving a Subaru Leone 2WD, Karangatha clocked 0.52.58 to clinch first place, ahead of Edward Mburu, who settled for second in 0:56:43.

"There were really some special cars out there... some of them are testing out for the big events, such as East Africa Mini Classic Safari that is on next month. It was such a wonderful experience to be among such a variety of cars to really experienced drivers such as Hamza Anwar who has many years at the top. We even had beginners coming through with their modified cars," Karangatha said.

The event, held at Stoni Athi Resort, was organized by the Sikh Union Sports Club and brought together approximately six motorsport teams from around the country.

Despite walking away the winner, Karangatha chose to focus on the bigger picture of the training programme, which is to nurture more talents in the motorsport industry.

"The route was very good... it was very technical and just perfect to teach people in motorsport on how to handle cars better and balance it. It has been good day for us; we haven't had a rally training programme like this is in a long time. We are happy that everything went well for us... the car is performing well and I had a good rhythm with my navigator Edward (Ndukui)," he said.

Karangatha added: "Training rallies and clubmans are the way to go and we hope to have more of this in the future."

Speaking at the same time, Ndukui admitted the race had put their driving skills to the ultimate test.

"The first two loops were a bit challenging and so we had to learn and learn. All in all, we really enjoyed this event... it was amazing. Now, we are looking forward to the Mini Classic rally in December. We thank out team and the organisers for their support all through the way," Ndukui said.