Cancellation of motorsports events due to the coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of discomfort to the majority of leading rally enthusiasts.
Tim Jessop, 44, who has participated in the sport competitively for than two decades, said he was among those eagerly waiting for the action to resume.
“The world is in an uncertain and crazy place at the moment and everyone is going through tough times. We hope that we can get back to some form of normalcy,” Jessop told Nation Sport.
“I’m sure the entire motorsport fraternity is eager to get back to being active again and being able to compete. But safety is the main priority for everyone and we will just have to abide by the rules and regulations and be patient.”
The navigator has guided Carl Tundo to five Kenya National Rally Championship titles and twice winner of the famous round of the Safari Rally, notably the 60th edition and the IRC Safari Rally.
Besides navigating Tundo for most his rallying career, Jessop has himself actively taken part in other major events such as the Rally Raids, Motorbike Enduros, Hill Climbs and Motocross events.
He said that he has always respected Tundo as one of the best rally drivers since the crew started rallying in a Datsun 160J more than 21 years ago before moving to more sophisticated rally machines like Mitsubishi Lancers Evos. Jessop has competed in over 168 rallies, mostly with Tundo.
There are various types of navigation to master with varying amounts of ease or difficulty, and on some events or sections, this combined with an element of timing.
Quite often, it is the navigator who takes on the administration of the event too, putting in the entry, sorting documentation, ordering maps, road books, booking hotels and making sure that you get the start of the competitive sections on time. In return, the driver tends to look after the car and follows navigator’s command.
Rallying is all about teamwork, and the skill of the navigator is equally as important as that of the driver.
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