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Born in Wales, UK in 1964,
Alastair has always had a keen interest in motor sport. His job as a
tea trader/exporter brought him to Kenya in 1994 where he soon became
involved with the local motor sport fraternity and is now one of the main
committee members of the
Mombasa Sports Club.
Alastair Cavenagh has almost
become the yardstick against which others are setting their sights.
Following a learning year in a
Datsun 1600 back in 1996 it was obvious right from the start that Alastair
had a natural flair as a driver and continued to persevere through many
disappointments before claiming his first championship victory in the 1998
Guru Nanak Rally.
The move to a Subaru Imprezza
saw an immediate and dramatic change to his driving technique and style and
it was not long before he was consistently finishing in the top 3 in every
event.
Alastair won the Coast event -
Super Special Spectator Stage in 1998 an accomplishment that he was to
maintain throughout 1999, 2000 - in front of his sponsors WEC Lines, who
have co-sponsored the MMC Coast Rally ever since Alastair's participation in
the sport.
The Championship series covers
12 events providing the crews with a variety of routes across the country
from the Kajiado Plains to the Coast and up to the highlands around Mt.
Kenya and the farmlands of Eldoret.
1999 was Alastair's most
successful season with outright victories in 3 of the 12 rounds of the
series and a top 3 placing in 4 others. Although it was a closely
fought battle towards the end he emerged the 1999 Kenya National Rally
Champion and was awarded an F.I.A. "B" seed as a result.
In 2000 it all looked to be
going his way again winning the Nairobi based BP Visco Rally and the Shell
Helix Eldoret rally early in the season.
Cavenagh was on a high and
another championship victory seemed assured. With the new found
dominance came a driving confidence that expressed itself in setting the
majority of the fastest stage times throughout the season!
His mount had once again been
renewed after the Safari rally although he remained loyal to Subaru and the
preparation of the car for each event was now in the hands of professionals.
A new engine management system
had been installed and it seemed that he was unstoppable.
Then bad luck set in as he
failed to finish event after event falling foul to some unusual problems.
He would end the year 4th in
the Championship but it had all been worthwhile having won in every other
respect especially the experience gained for which the penalty had led to
disasters as both his and the car's limits were explored and pushed to their
limits.
Every rally from which
Alastair Cavenagh retired in the 2000 season, he had been leading (often by
significant margins) at the time of his retirement.
CONCLUSION
As a result of his sheer speed
and commitment, Alastair Cavenagh is almost guaranteed to end up on the
winner's podium in each event that he enters in Kenya. His expert
local knowledge of the stages coupled with the fact that he has the very
latest machinery available which in turn is maintained by arguably the best
rally mechanics in the country make Alastair and his team an extremely
dominant force to reckon with. Consequently, he can be confident
of providing his sponsors with maximum publicity and beneficial returns for
their investment.
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