It was fortunate then that he got off to the best possible start, winning the Mombassa Rally in emphatic fashion. He ended up 1 minute and 48 seconds ahead of the field at this four-stage, 113.4-kilometre long event. This was the first ever victory on African soil for the ŠKODA brand and it was also a first career victory for Baryan. It was a result which would also set the scene for the rest of his season.
But it wasn’t all to be plain sailing for Baryan. He did not compete in the opening round of the African Rally Championship, the Rallye Bandama - Côte d'Ivoire. His next event was the Safari Rally, a Kenyan event, which was the second round of both series, where he would end up in ninth place overall.
That result was somewhat artificial however, as Baryan incurred a 10-minute penalty, without which he would have been pushing for an overall podium place. However, his time was still fast enough to secure third place in the ARC standings and this positive result, plus the fact that the bulk of the rest of the championship was being held in East Africa, appears to have convinced him to continue in the ARC.
Next up for Baryan were two more Kenyan Rally Championship events. He finished in fifth position at the Eldoret Rally, but then took victory at the RSC Rally in Nairobi by a comfortable margin of 43 seconds, despite suffering three punctures along the way. Both events gave him valuable time in the ŠKODA FABIA R5 and undoubtedly fuelled the winning run that was to follow.
Having sat out the third round of the African Rally Championship, which was the York Rally in South Africa, Baryan was back for the Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally. He delivered a dominant performance winning eight of the ten special stages and leading from start to finish. The eventual margin of victory was a huge 9 minutes and 51 seconds. Baryan made a history, because it was the first ever ŠKODA’s win in the African Rally Championship.
Manvir Baryan at the African Rally Championship 2017
The win left him second in the ARC standings, but he was still unsure whether he could compete in the final three rounds. But event cancellations in the Kenyan championship helped make up his mind and Baryan was on the start line for the next round of the ARC, the Rally Tanzania.
Despite being his first drive at this event, Baryan was once again in imperious form. He won six of the eight stages driven and - despite a little wobble on stage three which saw him lose the lead for two stages - was never really troubled. He took his second ARC victory of the season by another comfortable margin, this time 6 minutes and 17 seconds.
Next up was the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally. By this stage, Baryan led the ARC standings and was closing in on the title. He adopted a cautious approach at this event, which he had not previously driven in, to avoid mistakes. But anyone looking at the times wouldn’t know it. Baryan won every stage on the way to a comfortable victory by 3 minutes and 34 seconds.
That result left him on the brink of the title. He just needed to finish the next event, the Zambia International Rally, to be a champion. Again, he approached the rally cautiously, and despite leading after the first stage, he was pushed hard throughout the first leg by Muno Singh and Jessy Singh. But they held off the challenge to secure a third successive ARC victory and clinch the title.
It was the first championship of Manvir Baryan’s career and also a first-ever African Rally Championship crown for the ŠKODA brand. It also added another continent to the impressive global roster of victories chalked up by the FABIA R5.
It was fortunate then that he got off to the best possible start, winning the Mombassa Rally in emphatic fashion. He ended up 1 minute and 48 seconds ahead of the field at this four-stage, 113.4-kilometre long event. This was the first ever victory on African soil for the ŠKODA brand and it was also a first career victory for Baryan. It was a result which would also set the scene for the rest of his season.
But it wasn’t all to be plain sailing for Baryan. He did not compete in the opening round of the African Rally Championship, the Rallye Bandama - Côte d'Ivoire. His next event was the Safari Rally, a Kenyan event, which was the second round of both series, where he would end up in ninth place overall.
That result was somewhat artificial however, as Baryan incurred a 10-minute penalty, without which he would have been pushing for an overall podium place. However, his time was still fast enough to secure third place in the ARC standings and this positive result, plus the fact that the bulk of the rest of the championship was being held in East Africa, appears to have convinced him to continue in the ARC.
Next up for Baryan were two more Kenyan Rally Championship events. He finished in fifth position at the Eldoret Rally, but then took victory at the RSC Rally in Nairobi by a comfortable margin of 43 seconds, despite suffering three punctures along the way. Both events gave him valuable time in the ŠKODA FABIA R5 and undoubtedly fuelled the winning run that was to follow.
Having sat out the third round of the African Rally Championship, which was the York Rally in South Africa, Baryan was back for the Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally. He delivered a dominant performance winning eight of the ten special stages and leading from start to finish. The eventual margin of victory was a huge 9 minutes and 51 seconds. Baryan made a history, because it was the first ever ŠKODA’s win in the African Rally Championship.
Manvir Baryan at the African Rally Championship 2017
The win left him second in the ARC standings, but he was still unsure whether he could compete in the final three rounds. But event cancellations in the Kenyan championship helped make up his mind and Baryan was on the start line for the next round of the ARC, the Rally Tanzania.
Despite being his first drive at this event, Baryan was once again in imperious form. He won six of the eight stages driven and - despite a little wobble on stage three which saw him lose the lead for two stages - was never really troubled. He took his second ARC victory of the season by another comfortable margin, this time 6 minutes and 17 seconds.
Next up was the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally. By this stage, Baryan led the ARC standings and was closing in on the title. He adopted a cautious approach at this event, which he had not previously driven in, to avoid mistakes. But anyone looking at the times wouldn’t know it. Baryan won every stage on the way to a comfortable victory by 3 minutes and 34 seconds.
That result left him on the brink of the title. He just needed to finish the next event, the Zambia International Rally, to be a champion. Again, he approached the rally cautiously, and despite leading after the first stage, he was pushed hard throughout the first leg by Muno Singh and Jessy Singh. But they held off the challenge to secure a third successive ARC victory and clinch the title.
It was the first championship of Manvir Baryan’s career and also a first-ever African Rally Championship crown for the ŠKODA brand. It also added another continent to the impressive global roster of victories chalked up by the FABIA R5.
