Safina Khan and her son Ahil/ HANDOUTSafina Khan and her son Ahil savoured a memorable outing at the Shell Autocross and Autocross Plus Championship Round Six at the WRC SSS Racetrack in Kasarani, combining competitive racing with a special mother-and-son experience.
Ahil impressed in the Open Class despite driving a black N10 Subaru the family acquired only on Friday, with Safina navigating him through the demanding course.
The youngster had to contend with rain during practice and initial power problems before the team resolved the issues and he grew in confidence.
“The N10 Subaru is still new, I had no idea where to place the centre diff. We were struggling in the first two heats, we had no power, but we managed to sort the car out with the team and right now it’s exceptional,” Ahil said.
He credited his mother’s experience as a navigator for helping him settle into the competition.
“I’m just trying to pace myself and get better in every heat. My navigator, who is my mum, is quite experienced. I’m also braking much later to pace myself better. It’s very nice having her in the seat,” he said.
For Safina, a celebrated co-driver who won multiple WRC Safari Rally Coupe des Dames trophies alongside Michelle Van Tongeren, the experience was a novelty, with her son now occasionally correcting her.
“I’m still trying hard not to make mistakes and being corrected by kijana (son) here quite a lot. You can imagine him actually telling us what to do,” she said.
Safina, who drove the blue N12 Subaru, was delighted with their progress as a team.
“All in all, he is really impressing me. We are really happy with the progress we are making as a team and doing a lot of wheel spinning on gravel, trying hard to keep it in check. All in all, a very good experience sitting with my son. It’s quite a novelty,” she said.
Their father and team principal, Adil Khan, oversaw the team's operations, maintaining the family's longstanding allegiance to Subaru.
“Born with Subaru, die with Subaru,” Adil quipped, summing up the family's passion for the marque.
