Three Zimbabwe bike enthusiasts will be riding from Harare to Nairobi to take part in this year’s Africa Concours d’Elegance scheduled for September 28th.
They will be joined by five bikers from Uganda, who will also be riding from Kampala to attend the event. This year’s event is organised with support from Stanbic Bank and SGA Security Group, will be held in memory of Bob Dewar and promises to be exciting.
So far, entries from Tanzania, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Uganda and Zimbabwe have been received, adding an international flavour. From Harare, Pumulani Ncube will be riding his 2006 BMW R1200 GSA motorcycle with his teammates Edmore Muyambo and Tafadzwa Matiza on a Harley Davidson and a BMW GSA, respectively. The three are very enthusiastic about the prospect of riding the 2,881km journey to Nairobi.
“We have been preparing ourselves for this adventure since the beginning of the year, and it is indeed the highlight of this year’s events. We are very excited at the prospect of meeting fellow bikers from Uganda and seeing all the wonderful bikes prepared by Kenyan motorcycle enthusiasts,” Pumulani said.
Also joining in the fun at the Nairobi Racecourse are members of the Uganda Bikers Association and Pearl Bikers Africa. Several members of these clubs have been riding from Uganda every year to take part in the event and are a popular attraction in the motorcycle ring.
Leonard Were of PBA will be riding his 2016 Yamaha Super Tenere 1200 enduro bike, joined by fellow club-mates Vincent Kayemba, Harry Kaboyo and Davis Musinguzi with their BMW R1200 GSA bikes made in 2019 and 2020.
Allan Mitumba, a member of the Uganda Bikers Association, will also be contesting the class for Street motorcycles from 1001cc to 1300cc in his 1998 BMW R1100 RT.
Car enthusiast Patrick Mweheire from Uganda will be showcasing four classic Mercedes-Benz cars ranging in age from 1956 to 1988. He is hoping to take the class prize with his Mercedes W180 Ponton made in 1956, which came second last year in the class for touring cars from 2,001cc to 2,400cc.
Other entries already received include a strong contingent of Alfa Romeos entered by members of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club Kenya, the organisers of the event. Among them are two Alfa Romeo GTVs entered by Priten Patel and Jonathan Somen, made in 1973 and 1976 respectively and the 1972 Alfa Romeo Spider of Kamene Wanday.
Gayling May will be hoping for a podium finish in his sparkling 1967 Alfa Romeo Sprint, which is one of only 597 right-hand drive examples of this limited production two-door coupe. The car has taken the top place in the up to 3000cc touring car class several times. Peter Wanday, the Chairman of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club and the organiser of the event, said, “We expect to receive a full house of cars and bikes before the entry deadline, which is on September 17th.”
by CHRIS MBAISI
