•ZAMBIA Motor Sport Association vice president, Sam Ching’ambu (left) presents K90, 000 to Mohammed Essa towards his participation in the Africa Rally Championship final leg in Madagascar next month. Picture by SANDRA MWILA.

By SANDRA MWILA –
RALLY ace Mohamed Essa has called on Government to help him meet the K145, 000 deficit needed to participate in the last leg of the Africa Rally Championship (ARC) in Madagascar next month.
Essa said this yesterday at the Lusaka Motor Club when Zambia Motor Sport Association (ZMSA) vice president Sam Ching’ambu handed more than K90, 000 cash to enable the former Africa champion compete in the race.
Ivorian Garry Chaynes leads the ARC drivers chart on 101 points and enjoys an eight-point lead over Essa heading into the final round.
But the Zambian has an outside chance of winning the title with a victory in Madagascar on November 7 to 9 and hope the former tumbles.
Jassy Singh is the current African champion but opted out of the 2014 race due to school commitments and is only taking part in the National Motor Rally.
Varun Beverages have given Essa K50, 000 with ZMSA technical director Muna Singh donating US$1,000 (about K6, 300), while the remaining K23, 000 came from rally enthusiasts to make K90, 000, leaving him with a deficit of K145, 000.
Essa said his aim was to stop Chaynes from grabbing the African title which Zambia has won in the past three straight years.
“I am running out of time because I have to leave for Madagascar on November 1 and right now my hopes are on the Government to come on board and bail me out so that we can stop Chaynes from grabbing the title we have held for the past three years,” he said.
Essa thanked all sponsors and individuals who have come on board for their overwhelming support during his hard time of trying to secure sponsorship.
Ching’ambu called on the corporate world and the Sports Council of Zambia(SCZ) to bail out Essa, saying that he was confident that the Zambian driver could retain  the ARC title despite trailing Chaynes.
“The Madagascar rally is a must go for Essa because it is the only way we can retain the ARC title for Zambia and it will be a good present for the country as we celebrate our golden jubilee,” he said.
He said the response from the corporate world and individuals was encouraging and that he was confident Essa would not let ZMSA down.
“For the first time, we have had companies from the Copperbelt coming on board to support Essa which is encouraging and hope many more will come on board and help raise the money,” he said.