Nairobi — Despite a quad accident at the age of 22, Nikhil Sachania's love for all matters motorsports remains unbowed.
In September 2011, Nikhil was involved in an accident in Athi River where he was testing his new quad bike with Shazar Anwar and Zane Young trying to get ready for his would-be first National event.
He hit a rock at high-speed and landed headfirst. The impact shattered his spine. But guess what? Nikhil's deeply ingrained racing convictions will always bring him back to the bucket seat of his hand-controlled cars time and time again!
Nikhil is the epitome of world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge's now-famous saying, "no human is limited."
His first race car (a Mitsubishi Challenger 3ltr V6) was acquired locally and built by his first co-driver Charan Singh.
"All my cars including the Fiat are hand-controlled. The operation is a simple push and pull lever mechanism- pull to accelerate and push to brake," he explains.
No limits to success
As he continues to literally push the limits, Nikhil continues to attract accolades in the local motorsports industry.
He was the winner of the Motorsports Personality of the Year award in 2014, Sportsperson of the Year Award (SOYA) Sportsman Living with Disability award 2014/2015 and the Kenya National Rally Championships (KNRC) SPV champion (2014 and 2018), among other achievements.
The icing on the cake for Nikhil is a second appearance at the World Rally Championships (WRC) Safari Rally set for June 22-25 to Naivasha.
The second generation driver (son of Dinesh Sachania) returns to "fesh fesh" racing world of Naivasha behind the wheel of a modified, hand-controlled Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X marque.
Nikhil is grateful for the support he has received from KCB Bank and FIA's Disability and Accessibility Commission.
"The FIA grant was given to me in 2020, which included the fuel tank, fire suppression kit and overalls and I am still using them," he says.
He adds: "The fuel tank is a certified FIA tank and has been a very big boost for my Safari aspirations from 2021 when I first participated in a WRC event. It is great to have the FIA support and promote disabled drivers across the globe."
Three-Car Outfit
Together with his able-bodied partner Deep Patel, the duo will represent a star-studded three-car KCB Bank Racing outfit alongside current national champion Karan Patel/Tauseef Khan(Ford Fiesta Rally 2) and Evans Kavisi/Absalom Aswani (Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX).
"KCB supported our racing campaign on the 2022 Safari and part of the drive in the 2022 KNRC season. It is great to have their support again in 2023. Now we are able to procure quality spare parts, tyres- and indeed- savor the incredible exposure of gracing the fabled event," he says.
Nikhil adds: "Safari preparations have run meticulously well. Our technical team have stripped the car and are rebuilding it after our participation in Nakuru. My aim this year is to at least return the EVO back in the top 15."
He is drawing upon his experience on the national circuit in his quest for a great run at the Safari Rally.
"The 2022 Safari was rough and tough, but we enjoyed every bit of it; posting a strong position in the National Category (4th) despite the gremlins we had to contend with on the last stage," Nikhil explains.
NIKHIL'S LOWDOWN
NICKNAME: Nik
NEXT EVENT: WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2023'
PREVIOUS RACING CATEGORY: SPV (Specially Prepared car)
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DATE OF BIRTH: 07/01/89
TEAM: Filmico Racing Team
PROFESSION: Project Manager at Samani Construction Ltd.
HOMETOWN: Nairobi
RACING DEBUT: Eldama Ravine Rally 2014
NAVIGATOR: Deep Patel
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1. Kenya Motorsport Personality of the year 2014.
2. Sports Personality of the Year (Soya) Sportsman Living with Disability award 2014/2015
3. KNRC SPV Champion 2014
4. KNRC SPV Champion 2018
5. KNRC Division 3 Champion 2018
6. 4th Overall -KNRC WRC Safari Rally 2022 behind Carl Tundo, Jasmeet Chana and Maxine Wahome
